Divine Intervention
by Mizaya
Summary: AFTERMATH CHAPTER UP! High School is coming to an end and Tohru is faced with some tough choices. Can Yuki, Kyou, and the other Jyuunishi save her from Akito's wrath? Can they save themselves? A story about love and breaking the curse. [TxK, TxY triangle]
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Fruits Basket.

A/N: The story is set after the anime and the latest manga. I am going on the fact that the Tohru/ Akito scene at the end of the anime never happened, because that was not in the manga. Also, although this chapter is happy and fun, it will get much more dramatic later, so keep reading. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1:

Tohru placed the last set of chopsticks on the table when she heard Shigure enter the front door. "Oh, good," she exclaimed, beaming. "Shigure-san, you're just in time for dinner. How was your visit with Hatori-san?"

Shigure removed his shoes and made his way to stand in front of Tohru. "Fine, fine. Actually, I have some excellent news for you. Apparently, in an effort to make sure Kyou and Yuki show up this year to the New Year's celebration, Akito-san has agreed to let you accompany us to the main house."

Immediately blushing, Tohru put up her hands defensively. "No, no, no. I don't want to trouble anyone. I'll be fine this year, I promise."

"Tohru, you know you're no trouble at all," began Shigure, raising a hand to her shoulder, when Yuki and Kyou entered the room.

"Is there a problem, Honda-san?"

"What did that Dog say this time?"

Before Tohru could answer, Shigure turned to face the boys. His serious expression seemed out of place. "I was discussing our plans to go to the Honke on New Years."

"I'm not going," the boys said in unison.

"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible. Akito-san made it clear that there would be…harsh…consequences if you two failed to show up a third year in a row. Tohru-kun has been invited, as well. Akito-san would really be upset if she didn't show up," Shigure responded, flicking his eyes towards Tohru meaningfully.

Both Yuki and Kyou had received serious reprimand from Akito after the second missed New Years. The thought of such a beating made the boys wary of skipping again, but thinking of Tohru alone was worse. However, the indication that something might happen to Tohru if she _didn't_ go with them to Sohma house made up their minds.

"Fine, I'll go," in unison again.

"Excellent. Then it's settled," said Shigure, dropping into his seat at the table.

Tohru stood dumbfounded for a minute before realizing there was no food on the table. "Sorry," she blurted out, running to the kitchen. Her mind was going in a hundred different directions at once. 'Why did Akito-san suddenly change his mind? What would happen to Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun if they didn't go? What would happen to me?' Her thoughts got bleaker and more confused as she set the rice on the table.

Yuki noticed her distracted expression and smiled. "Don't worry, Honda-san, we won't allow anything to happen to you."

"Yeah. We'll make sure Akito doesn't get anywhere near you," added Kyou. His tone was angry, but Tohru could hear the concern. She giggled when she realized that he was so worried that he actually agreed to do work with Yuki.

"Oi, what are you laughing at?" yelled Kyou, frowning.

"I'm sorry, Kyou-kun. You just agreed with Yuki-kun, that's all. Please, don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll be fine." Tohru looked back and forth between the two boys, who were scowling at each other.

"Baka neko."

"Kuso nezumi."

Tohru giggled again and went to get the rest of dinner.

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"New Years arrived in no time," Tohru thought aloud. She took the teapot off the stove and poured a cup for herself. "I'm so excited to see the wonderful Sohma decorations."

"I don't think they're as great as you think they are." Kyou's voice made Tohru start. Turning around, she found the Cat standing next to the refrigerator, milk carton in hand.

"Kyou-kun! I didn't know you were there. Aren't you happy for New Years?" questioned Tohru.

"Not really. Lots of loud music and obnoxious brats like Momiji and Hiro. Not exactly my idea of a good time."

Tohru just smiled. "Well, I think it sounds like fun."

"Whatever. Just typical junk like anybody else's party. Except for the Zodiac Banquet, of course," he added with scorn.

Tohru's look changed from giddy to quizzical. "Kyou-kun…what exactly happens during the Zodiac Banquet?" She abruptly realized that was a bad topic to bring up in front of the excluded Cat. "I mean, what does everyone else do meanwhile?"

"I really have no idea what goes on during the stupid thing. Shigure said something about the year's animal dancing. I guess that means it's Ayame's turn. Probably Akito lectures them all for hours about how much they should worship him. As for everyone else, they either don't know about it or pretend not to. Usually, it happens during the End-of-the-Year-Bells and fireworks, so no one really notices that they're gone."

Tohru's expression was positively ecstatic. "You mean there is a fireworks display!? How delightful! I can't wait!"

"Uh, yeah." Kyou brightened. "Actually, I like to watch the fireworks from the roof of my old house. Um…since you…um…can't go to the Banquet, either, maybe you could, you know, watch them with me," Kyou mumbled, face downcast.

Tohru's excitement reached a boiling point. She forgot herself completely and threw her arms around Kyou. "Kyou-kun, I'd love to!" she got out before he transformed in her embrace. Kyou looked up at Tohru's grin and was thankful that she couldn't tell how much he was blushing in his cat form. She picked up her tea and hummed her way out of the kitchen, allowing him privacy for when he changed back.

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Yuki headed down the stairs and found himself facing Tohru, who was still humming, tea in hand. He smiled. "Good afternoon, Honda-san. Getting ready for New Years?"

"Oh, yes," answered Tohru. "I was just going to finish cleaning up so I could go get some New Years soba noodles at the store for lunch."

"Mmm. That sounds delicious. Let me help you carry your groceries."

"It's okay, Sohma-kun. I don't want to bother you. It's only soba. Not heavy!"

Yuki's smile broadened. "No, please. I have nothing else to do and besides, I want to go with you. Maybe we can check on the secret base on the way to the store, since we'll be away for three days."

"Well in that case, all right. I don't want the strawberries to die while we're gone." Tohru raised an arm in triumph. "We must secure the base!" She smiled happily as she went to finish her cleaning. After laundry, dishes, and mopping, she went to find Yuki in his room. "All ready," she called to him.

Yuki put down his book and headed to the base with Tohru. The two sat down and carefully checked on all the plants.

"Well, everything looks okay. The radishes could use some water, maybe." Yuki sat back on his heels and sighed, brushing dirt off his hands.

"Right," Tohru said, jumping to her feet. She grabbed the watering can and handed it to Yuki, who had a much greener thumb than she did. After drowning two sets of cucumber and some daikon, she pretty much let him do all the watering. Yuki watered the radishes and stood up.

"Well, I guess that's it. Hopefully it won't get too cold before we come back." Yuki shrugged his shoulders and the pair left to go to the store.

On the way back to the house, Yuki started to tell Tohru about the Sohma New Years. "First, there'll be lots of feasting and dancing, then kites. It's actually quite fun. The best part is the fireworks. During the Jyuunishi Banquet we watch them from the window."

"Yes, Kyou-kun invited me to watch them with him," Tohru responded. "I can't wait!"

'Baka neko,' thought Yuki. His smile faltered for a second but he forced himself to replace it. "Yes, well, I would have liked that if not for the Banquet. Your company is much preferable to listening to Akito's lectures about how much we should respect him." 

Tohru laughed to herself, thinking of Kyou's earlier comment. The two rivals were much different, and yet so similar. She still had hope that they could be friends someday. Of course, the image of them standing face to face in the sunset, pledging to be best friends, was still pretty scary… Maybe something in between….

Tohru snapped out of her daydream and looked up at Yuki. "Sorry, Yuki-kun. I was being spacey. What was that again?"

"That's okay, Honda-san. I invited you to go on a walk around my favorite garden tomorrow."

"Yes, that would be nice!" Tohru exclaimed.

"Okay, it's a date. We'll make sure and go when everyone is at the main house mingling. That way it will be just you and me."

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After finishing the soba and locking up the house, the small group was on its way to the Honke. Shigure's voice began to grate on Kyou and Yuki's nerves after a short time, but Tohru seemed to enjoy his prattling, so they kept quiet.

"…. Anyway, so last week I actually convinced Mit-chan that I had changed my non-fiction work about the life of a high school girl into a hot romance novel. I think I almost gave her a heart attack, poor thing. She should know by now that I live to terrify her." He guffawed at his own cunning.

Tohru just responded with her "uneasy laugh." 'Shigure-san should really be more careful with Mit-san's health. I'm not sure if she can handle much more of that,' she thought.

"Shigure, you should really be kinder to Mit-san. I don't know how you found someone who tolerates your behavior," Yuki interjected, voicing Tohru's concerns.

"Have you seen her?" muttered Kyou. "She's as insane as he is."

Shigure simply ignored their criticisms. "Ah, we're here," he said, changing the subject.

Tohru walked through the kudomatsu-adorned gate and into the grandest festivity she had ever seen. 'There are so many Sohma's,' she thought. 'I didn't realize before.' People filled every square foot of the immense plaza. Tohru stood in awe of the activity: Music, dancing, feasting, and kite-flying. Suddenly, a blonde boy popped up in front of her face.

"Tohru-mutti!!!" shouted Momiji. "I'm so glad to see you. Isn't this great? I can't wait to show you around and introduce you to everyone."

"Happy New Years, Momiji-kun!" grinned Tohru. "This is so overwhelming."

"Oneechan!" Kisa ran up and hugged Tohru. Hiro appeared behind her. His arms were crossed and he faced away with a sneer. "Dumb chick," he grumbled.

Kyou grabbed his collar and hoisted him into the air. "Hey, you little brat. Watch your mouth."

Hiro wriggled out of Kyou's grip and smirked. "Did I insult your idiot girlfriend?" Kyou raised his fist threateningly and was going to show Hiro who was in charge when he someone grabbed his wrist from behind.

"Hiro, shut your mouth," said Hatsuharu. "And Kyou, are you really going to beat up a little kid?" Kyou relaxed in Haru's grasp, so he let go. "I wasn't sure you guys were going to show up."

"Akito-san invited Tohru-kun to come along," Shigure answered.

"I see," the Cow said, looking at Tohru. "I guess you can't refuse that offer."

"Haru," Yuki interrupted. "I heard Rin was doing better. Is she around?"

"Yeah, I'm going to find her before the Banquet. Wanna come?"

Yuki nodded. "Honda-san, if I don't see you later on tonight, I'll find you in the morning."

Tohru smiled in response. "Okay, have fun!"

Kyou glared after Yuki. 'What was _that_ about?' he wondered. His thought were cut off by an excruciatingly loud "Gure-san!!!"

"Aya!" Shigure called back. "My, my. What a wonderful costume." Ayame had left no holds barred in designing his special attire for the dance.

"Mine-chan helped me. Isn't it spectacular? I made it with you in mind, Gure-san." His voiced slipped into the flirtatious tone the others knew too well. "I may need your help getting out of it later."

"Aya, not in this innocent company," Shigure answered in the same tone.

"Perverts!" yelled Kyou, furious.

"Good evening, Kyonkichi. Would you like to sleep in my bed tonight, to repay your generosity last time I stayed over?" Ayame winked.

"I'd rather eat leeks!" Kyou responded.

Ayame just laughed in his haughty manner. "Where is my dear younger brother?"

"He went with Hatsuharu-kun to find Isuzu-san," Tohru piped up.

"Oh, well. I'll talk to him at the Banquet. Come, Gure-san, let's go find Tori-san." Ayame skipped off laughing, pulling Shigure along. Shigure just waved back at them.

"Geez! I thought my ears were gonna start bleeding," complained Kyou. He looked over at Tohru. "Wanna go find some food?"

"Oh, yes, Kyou-kun," Tohru said, smiling.

"I guess we should go to the Banquet," Momiji told Tohru. "We'll see you later." Kisa hugged Tohru again and ran after Momiji, Hiro silently following.

"C'mon," Kyou said. He and Tohru wove their way through the crowd to the food table. "Let's hurry and get to the roof," he said. "I think the bells and fireworks are about to start."

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They each piled plates with food of every sort and Kyou grabbed cups and sake, as well. He led Tohru away from the plaza to a house not too far off, set up on a small rise. The surroundings seemed twice as empty when contrasted with the bustling plaza. The roof came down very close to the ground right on the top of the hill, so the only difficult maneuver was jumping over the gap between. Kyou handed his plate and the sake to Tohru and then jumped. Tohru handed all the items to him and waited for him to set them down. Then, he reached out and grabbed her hands, easing her over the gap.

Once on the roof, they climbed to the peak and settled in, leaning up against the chimney. "So this is the house where you grew up?" Tohru asked, stuffing some sushi into her mouth.

"Yeah. I used to live here before my mom died." Kyou's expression darkened as he remembered his parents. Tohru realized her mistake.

"Um, Kyou-kun, I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to talk about hurtful things, especially on such a happy holiday." She lowered her head, hair falling in her eyes.

"Oi, no, it's not your fault. Hey, um, I made you something." Kyou felt his face redden as he pulled the paper object from his cargo-pants pocket. "It's kinda wrinkled," he apologized, flattening it on his leg.

"A kite? How beautiful! Thank you, Kyou-kun! I used to fly kites every New Years with my mom." She put her hand to the pocket in her dress, where she had placed a small photo of Kyouko. "Let's make a toast!" Tohru poured two cups of sake. "To New Years with Kyou-kun and all of the Sohmas," Tohru announced, tapping the tiny cup with Kyou's. She quickly drank down the intoxicating liquid.

Kyou was a little surprised at her drinking and gave her a questioning look. "Careful, Tohru. I don't want to have to carry you off the roof."

"Don't be silly, Kyou-kun. My mom also let me have sake on New Years." She picked up the kite and examined it. Although the kite itself was simple white paper, the streamers were lovely red ribbons and a detailed drawing of a cat adorned the front. "How cute!" Tohru exclaimed, throwing it into the breeze. It fluttered as it caught the wind and soared higher. Tohru laid down on her back and sighed, staring up at the stars.

Just then, the first bell sounded and cheering could be heard from the plaza. "You up for more sake?" Kyou asked, half joking.

"That sounds good." Tohru sat up, still holding the kite. They toasted again and emptied the cups.

"The fireworks should start soon. Want me to hold the kite for you?" Tohru obliged and handed Kyou the string. Hands free, she finished her food and set the plate next to Kyou's empty one. 

Indeed, the fireworks did start. Tohru was mesmerized by the vibrant colors and booming sounds. Kyou smiled and rolled his eyes as she pointed at _every_ one and shouted, "Look at that one, Kyou-kun! That one was my favorite. Wait, no, that one is!" Eventually, the wind died and he reeled in the kite, putting it back into his pocket.

They chatted about the fireworks and had a few more cups of sake. Kyou felt emboldened and scooted closer to Tohru. '_She_ doesn't seem to be affected by the alcohol at all,' he thought miserably as his vision blurred for a second. He noticed that he was smiling more than usual and even laughing occasionally.

"Only five bells to go," Tohru sighed. "I've counted 103 already." Sure enough, the 108th bell cam soon afterward, accompanied by the grand finale of fireworks. The twinkling sparkles died out and they could see the crowd breaking up below.

Kyou collected the plates and cups and helped Tohru off the roof. Or rather, she helped him off the roof. She stumbled once but seemed to be in better shape than Kyou, who had to focus to get the world to stop spinning. "I've never acshually had shake before," he explained a bit loudly.

Tohru giggled. "That's okay, Kyou-kun. You're kind of fun like this."

"Okay, Tohru-chan," he said, sitting down hard on the hill. "I jusht wanted to tell you how great you are. Too good for that ramn dat – er – yeah, you know what I mean. Oh yeah, here'sh your kite back," he said, handing it to her.

Tohru sat down next to him and kept giggling. "You're being silly, Kyou-kun. Thank you for such a great night and such a wonderful present!" She leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek, then got up and helped him back to the plaza.

As Tohru walked into the emptying area, she saw Hatori from afar and headed in his direction. Apparently the Banquet had ended. Tohru left Kyou in Hatori's care and after a smile and a "Happy New Year!" was off to bed.

Kyou looked after her, his face beet-red from the alcohol and the kiss. Hatori was berating him for being drunk, but he wasn't listening. 'I can't believe she kissed me. I just hope it wasn't because of the sake…."

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A/N: Well that's it for now. Stay tuned for Yuki and Tohru's "date" the following morning, more Jyuunishi, and a scary Akito scene!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own fruits basket, but if I did, I might be talked into sharing.

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Chapter 2:

Tohru awoke to a faint knocking on her door. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Yes!" she called. "Come in."

"Sorry to disturb you, Honda-san," the maid said, head bowed. "Sohma Yuki-san asked me to deliver this to you at once. He said he would be waiting for you downstairs to go to breakfast."

Tohru crawled out of bed and bowed to the maid. "Thank you very much. I'll be right down." The maid nodded and bowed her way out of the guest room, shutting the door behind her.

With another yawn and a quick stretch, Tohru examined the object the maid had left on the dresser. It was a large box with a blue bow on top. The card attached to the front read, "Honda-san, I thought this was fit for a princess. –Yuki," in his elegant script.

Blushing, Tohru opened the lid only to find the most exquisite dress she had ever seen. The material was fine white silk with lace accents on the sleeves and neckline, and the skirt was several layers, making it flare out slightly. A wide red satin sash that tied in the back separated bodice and skirt. The same red satin was used to gather the sleeves at the cuff, which would be right above her elbows. Actually, it was rather similar to the dress she had tried on in Ayame's shop.

The first reaction Tohru had to the extravagant gift was, "This is way too much! I could never accept such an expensive dress. Oh, but Yuki-kun will think I don't like it if I don't wear it. Oh, mom! I really do feel spoiled like a princess sometimes." Resigning to her decision, Tohru put the dress on and brushed her hair. As an afterthought, she took two of the red ribbon streamers from her new kite and tied them in her hair. Then she quickly ran out of the room and down the stairs.

Yuki turned around to face Tohru as he heard her approaching. He had seen Tohru in a dress like that before, but that didn't take his breath away any less. "Good morning, Honda-san. I was right. That dress is very cute on you. And it suits you, too: white for innocence with a little bit of red for the bright sunshine you bring into our lives. It seems that they picked the New Years colors with you in mind."

The thought crossed Tohru's mind that if she blushed any harder she might burst into flames. "Thank you so much, Yuki-kun. The dress is beautiful, but I'm sorry if I made you think that you had to buy me anything for New Years."

Yuki chuckled at her apology. "Really, Honda-san, there's nothing to apologize for. A girl like you should have a new dress on New Years. Shall we go to breakfast?" He offered his arm to Tohru, who shyly took it, and they headed to the dining hall.

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Hatori saw Kyou drop his head into his hands with a pained look. Sitting down next to him at the table, he suppressed a smile. "So, now you know what a hangover feels like. Here, drink this. I put a little something in it to take away your headache," he said, pushing some tea in front of Kyou.

The orange-haired boy opened his eyes to glance over at Hatori. "Feeling guilty about dunking my head in cold water last night?" Kyou picked up the cup and sipped from it, grimacing at the bitter taste of whatever it was the doctor had added.

"That was for your own good. And not just for being inebriated. I've never seen you blush so hard."

Kyou winced, recalling himself telling Hatori all about Tohru kissing his cheek and how much fun he had with her watching the fireworks.

Hatori had expected to be the target of Kyou's temper after that comment, but was instead greeted with a humiliated Kyou, eyes and mouth closed tight in a regretful expression. "It's okay, Kyou. Your feelings for Tohru aren't exactly secret. Even so, you must be careful; you can imagine what Akito would do if he knew that he could use her to hurt you. He suspects as it is, but blurting out your fondness for her isn't helping the situation." He sighed. "Look, just be mindful of the consequences of your actions."

Kyou let out the breath he had been holding. "Hey, Hatori…thanks." With that, Hatori rose, patted Kyou on the shoulder, and walked into the breakfast crowd.

Kyou downed the rest of his tea and looked around. All of the Sohmas who lived in the main house- those that were part of the curse or knew of it- were gathering for breakfast. The tables in the huge room were filling up fast, but no one except Hatori had come to sit by Kyou in his corner table. 'Always shunned,' he thought. 'I wonder where Tohru and that damn rat are.' As if summoned, the two walked arm-and-arm into the room. Kyou's heart dropped when he saw Tohru's dress. 'Where did she get that? I suppose the kuso nezumi pulled it out of his sleeve.' Kyou sank into depression thinking about how Yuki's expensive gift to her made his insignificant. To make matters worse, he spotted Kagura heading in his direction, looking like a hawk coming in for the kill.

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Yuki and Tohru made their way to the food. "Yuki-kun, doesn't the ozoni look delicious? Mmm, and I love otoso on New Years!" She gazed around for a minute at the unbelievable selection.

"Yes, Honda-san, it looks very good. Try anything you want." And so they did, filling their plates to the brim with all the freshly made victuals. As they turned to look for a place to sit, Tohru caught site of Kyou and Kagura alone at a table in the back corner of the room.

"Maybe we should go sit by Kyou-kun. I'm not sure he's very happy about sitting alone with Kagura-san." In fact, Kyou was in every way the personification of a bristling cat.

"Wherever you want to sit, Honda-san, although I would really prefer to not eat with the baka neko." Yuki saw that Tohru's face clearly showed her torn feelings in wanting to please him and save Kyou at the same time. He just couldn't stand to make her look like that. "It's all right, Honda-san. He appears to be pretty quiet this morning, anyway." Tohru's face was content once again, and they went to sit with the Cat and Boar.

"Good morning, Kagura-san, Kyou-kun!" chimed Tohru. "Would it be okay if we sat with you?"

"Yeah, anything to get her attention off of me. It's way, way too early for this much talking." Kyou rubbed his temples with his fingers. He couldn't quite bring himself to make eye contact with Tohru, not after how he acted the night before.

"But Kyou-kun! I didn't get to see you last night, and I missed you so much! Where were you? Aren't you happy to see me?" Kagura tried to pull the resisting Kyou into her arms, lips puckered for a kiss.

"Ugh! Get off of me! I was avoiding you last night because you drive me crazy!" He realized that was the wrong thing to say, but he couldn't help himself. As Kagura pummeled him repeatedly, he only thought about how hard his head was pounding and that she wasn't helping any. Finally, she stopped and immediately fawned over his bruises. Kyou could only roll his eyes and try to block the sound of her screeching voice. The throbbing in his brain was unreal.

"…and I promise to take care of you forever, Kyou-kun. I love you!!! Let me go find you some ice," Kagura said, finishing her rant. Kyou felt the tension in his body release as she ran off. 'I hope the nearest ice is in Siberia,' he thought wistfully. Putting her out of his mind, he moved his attention back to the new arrivals at his table.

"You look pretty terrible this morning," teased Yuki. "I guess Kagura must have hurt you more than usual."

Kyou quickly glanced at Tohru, but by the look on her face he could tell that she was oblivious to the cause of his headache. "Uh, shut up, kuso nezumi. You don't like being attacked in the morning, either." He hoped that retort would satisfy Yuki. Kyou _really_ didn't want him to know the reason for his pain, because the last thing the Rat needed was more ammunition against him. Luckily, it appeared to have worked.

"Yes, but at least I'm able to fight back in the morning. You didn't even defend yourself." Yuki was speaking in the taunting voice he reserved for Kyou.

"I really don't need to hear about it from you!" Kyou replied, shouting. "Did you come over here just to talk about that?" 

"No. Actually, it was Honda-san's idea to join you. I would be happy if I never saw you again." Yuki calmed himself down and smiled at Tohru. "I'm sorry, Honda-san. I'll try not to ruin the holiday for you." 

Kyou felt like a pot that was about to boil over, but he forced himself to cool off a little, to a simmer. "Sorry," he said in a tight voice.

Tohru looked about to panic, and both boys knew what would come out of her mouth. "No! Don't be sorry! I should be sorry! I know you don't want to be around each other, and it was my fault we came to sit here, and I should have known better. Please say you'll forgive me!"

After reassuring her that it wasn't her fault, they all settled into eating breakfast. Hatsuharu joined them, also. He was looking even more upset than Kyou.

"Is everything okay, Hatsuharu-kun?" questioned Tohru.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little worried about Rin, is all. I think that last night she was trying to prove that she's fine, and now she's lying in bed ill. I told her to take it easy, but she has about as much sense as Yuki when it comes to that." His tone was strained with a frantic concern that Tohru had never heard from the normally laid-back White Haru. Since the day when Rin had come home from the hospital, she had seemed to get a little better. With some typical catalyst actions from Tohru, Rin and Haru had recently become close again. His friendship and love had helped her overcome some of her inner turmoil regarding her family's abuse and neglect. Even so, her health was still quite frail and Hatsuharu watched over her almost excessively.

"Tell Isuzu-san that I hope she feels better," said Tohru, trying to comfort Hatsuharu.

"I will. I'm going to bring her something to eat once I'm done. You know, Honda-san, she values your friendship a lot. I think you've been a good influence on her attitude." Haru flashed his debonair grin at her.

"Glad to know I can help! Isuzu-san has been a great friend to me, too," Tohru said back, her smile so large that her eyes seemed closed. Hatsuharu finished quickly and left to make a plate for Rin. The rest of the meal went by quietly, and after some introductions to various Sohmas that wandered over to their table and a short but stressful chat with the Hot Springs Lady and Ritsu, Yuki was ready to take Tohru to the garden. As they left, Kyou rested his head on his arms and tried not to think either about his headache or Tohru and Yuki's "date."

"Kyou, my love, I'm back with some ice!"

Kyou groaned.

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Yuki and Tohru strolled through the empty grounds to a far-off section of the Honke. Situated in the crux of two houses was a secluded garden. Although it wasn't large, it was the most gorgeous garden Tohru had ever seen. Bamboo lined the edges and willowy flowering trees that Tohru couldn't identify dotted the area. Everywhere else seemed to be hibernating for the winter, but this garden was alive with color. "I didn't know that a garden could look like this at this time of year," Tohru said in awe.

"Actually, Honda-san, this is a winter garden. The plants were chosen because they blossom at this time, and the rocks were specially chosen and placed to enhance the beauty. I spent many hours here when I was younger, because few people came here. And because this was my house." Yuki pointed to the larger of the two houses that encroached on the garden.

"How exciting!" said Tohru. "I got to see Kyou-kun's house last night, and now I get to see yours, too. I always wondered what they looked like." Tohru gazed at the cold house. Although it was very large, it had a stark quality that Tohru had imagined it would. Yuki's family didn't seem like it would be the warm and joyous type.

"Come with me, Honda-san. There is a place I want to show you." Tohru nodded, still entranced by her surroundings, and let Yuki lead her into the trees. They stopped next to the largest in the garden, a twisted tree that had a thick branch that grew horizontally, close to the ground. Yuki sat down on the natural bench and motioned Tohru to join him. "I often came to sit here when I was younger. It was a place I could be alone and pretend not to be in Sohma House." Yuki seemed to drift off to another world, absorbed in his mysterious shell.

Tohru explored her surroundings with her eyes. She noticed that no part of the Honke was visible from this point. It was almost like they were in the middle of a fantastical dream. Now she understood why this was Yuki's favorite place. He could escape from his invisible cage and imagine that he was far away from this cursed life. "Thank you, Yuki-kun," she said quietly. "It means a lot to me that you would share your special place with me."

Yuki smiled down at Tohru and gently laid his hand on hers. "This was my 'secret base' when I lived here. Even though I felt free being in this spot, it was a lonesome feeling, having no one to share my freedom with. There's no one that I could share this place with except for you, Honda-san. Thank _you_ for taking away the solitude."

Tohru's face turned every shade of pink. She grasped Yuki's hand in her own. Sometimes he seemed so abandoned and helpless like a child. She just sat there with him in silence for a long time, breathing in the crisp winter air. The sun was past its peak when they finally stood to leave. They had skipped lunch and both noticed a grumbling in their stomachs that they couldn't ignore. Slowly, they strolled out of the secluded trees and into the garden entrance. Yuki and Tohru stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of someone standing before them, a severe expression on his face.

"Good afternoon, Kureno," greeted Yuki warily. Tohru hadn't recognized the Bird immediately. It had been several months since she had seen him, and she really hadn't had too many interactions with him. At the time, she had tried to convince him to make contact with Uo, but that never happened. Tohru felt sorry for Kureno for being Akito's prisoner, but she couldn't help but feel a chill up her spine at his presence.

"Good afternoon,Yuki. Honda Tohru, you will accompany me to Akito's residence, now. He would like to speak with you." He promptly turned on his heel and started walking away, an air about him that said he knew she would follow. Tohru's eyes grew as big as saucers as she timidly followed Kureno's retreating back.

Yuki felt rooted to the ground. An ominous fear had consumed him at the sight of Kureno. Kureno meant Akito, because the Bird lived under his control. Now, watching Tohru leave to face that monster, he began shaking. Only the idea of Tohru hurt by Akito cured his paralysis. He had to find Shigure. Damnit! He might even need that baka neko for this…

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A/N: Ooh, and so the suspense builds! Please read and review so I know if you like my story. Even if you don't, I can handle criticism. Anything helps! I'll try to update quickly so you don't lose interest. Next time: Akito!

*Note: Please excuse my complete lack of knowledge in regards to plants and Japanese gardens.

Thanks to:

Lady Kara: Thanks for being my first reviewer! I like Kyou drunk too, hahaha. I just hope I did it with taste! Keep reading and reviewing.

Zapenstap: Thanks for getting me into Furuba! You seem to fuel all of my obsessions, starting with MLP so many years ago…Oh, the memories. I tried to put more Yuki in this chapter for you :) I'm not telling you what happens, though. *laughs evilly*


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If Fruits Basket was ever disowned, I would gladly adopt it.

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Chapter 3:

Yuki ran through the compound, weaving his way among the buildings. His heart was beating at an alarming pace, making him feel a bit dizzy, but he couldn't slow down. Emerging onto the plaza, he was forced to walk because of the mass of people feasting and enjoying the day. People saw him and tried to engage him in conversation, but he seemed to look right through them. His only thought was to find Shigure. The Dog might be an immature lecher, but he could be depended on when it came to Tohru, and Akito for that matter. Shigure would understand his urgency. And he would know where Hatori was. Hatori might like Tohru as much as the rest, but he was a willing slave to Akito and would obey him if the order came to erase Tohru's memory. 

After what seemed like hours, Yuki spotted Shigure and ran straight towards him, rudely pushing through the partygoers. "Shigure! Where's Hatori?" he panted, out of breath. His vision was skewed from lack of oxygen and he had to force himself to breathe slowly. 

Shigure looked worried for once in his life. "It's all right, Yuki-kun. Calm down. What happened?" 

Yuki eyed the people around him. "Not here." He led Shigure a little ways off so that no one could overhear their conversation. In the Honke, Akito had too many eyes and ears for people to be trusted. "Kureno came and took Honda-san to see Akito. We have to make sure he doesn't harm her. Where's Hatori?" he asked again.

Shigure's eyebrows came together in a frown as Yuki spoke. "This _is_ serious. I don't know what we can do, though. If we try to help her, it might make him angry and cause him to act out. We just have to hope that he doesn't hurt her, at least not physically. Don't worry; Ha-san is checking on Rin right now. He's not erasing Tohru-kun's memory."

Those words didn't comfort Yuki at all. "Damn you, Shigure," he began in a soft yet menacing voice. "You know as well as I do that his words are far more dangerous than his fists. If you won't help Honda-san, than I guess I'll have to do it myself." Without waiting for his cousin's response, he turned and ran off.

Shigure leaned against the side of the building he was standing next to and lit a cigarette. "Don't you understand yet, Yuki? She's going to be broken either way," he whispered.

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Kyou sat in Kagura's house, trying to figure out a way to get the clinging girl off of him long enough that he could escape. His earlier headache had dissipated, only to be replaced with a new one from her voice. "Look, woman, I'm not going to marry you and that's final. We already talked about this. You told me yourself that you only liked me to make yourself feel better because my curse is worse than yours is. I thanked you for being my friend no matter what the reasons were, but I thought that meant you were going to stop nagging me!"

Kagura put on her pouty face. "But Kyou-kun, I've decided that I really do love you now. I won't ever give up on us. I can't ever share you."

Kyou exhaled loudly. "Please, Kagura, just stop. I-I appreciate you caring…but I don't want anything else from you. You know what's going to happen to me when I graduate. It's only three months away, and…I really just need you to be a friend…please?"

Kagura held herself back from the fight she was about to start with him. Looking over at his face, she saw the anguish clearly and rage left her. She laid her hand on his arm and spoke in a soothing tone. "I know that, Kyou. Don't you think that I think about it all the time? I guess-I guess I'm just too mean and selfish. You're going to be locked away forever and all I can think about is myself. You deserve better than that…. I will always be your friend."

Hearing Kagura speak calmly still caught Kyou off guard. "Thank you, Kagura. Maybe one day the curse can be broken and we won't have to live these resentful lives." He gave her a resigned smile as she left the room to give him time alone. He was in shock at the conversation. He had never had such a nice talk with her.

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Yuki burst through the door to Kagura's house, where Rin was living. Kyou, sitting in the main room, was looking at him suspiciously. "Kyou, get up! Is Hatori still here?"

Kyou was taken aback. Yuki sounded upset, but wasn't even taking his anger out on him. The normally subdued Rat was panicked and frightened. Suddenly, Kyou remembered whom he was supposed to be with. "Where's Tohru?" he demanded, feeling a knot form in his chest.

"With Akito. Is Hatori still here, baka neko?!" Yuki yelled, now focusing his anger on Kyou. He looked like a cornered animal.

"With Akito? How did you let this happen, kuso nezumi? I'll kill you if she's not all right!" Kyou was losing himself to rage. "Answer me!"

But Yuki just ran past him to the stairs. Kyou followed him to Rin's room, where Yuki threw open the door and felt his heart beat again at the sight of Hatori. "Hatori, Honda-san is with Akito. We have to do something." Hatori didn't even look surprised. He slowly rose from sitting on the bed and stepped closer to Yuki. His apparent lack of concern was driving Yuki mad with fury. 

"I knew that he would want to see her sometime during her stay here. In all honesty, there's not much you can do. Do you dare go against Akito? If he wants to see her, he will, and if you try to stop him you may not be the only one to be punished. The only thing we can do is wait for him to finish with her and take it from there. If she comes to bodily harm, you know I will do everything in my power to treat her, but if the damage is emotional, both you and Kyou will have to take care of her. Hopefully, he just wants to speak with her further. I have been given no order to erase her memory, if that's what you're thinking."

Hatori's words replaced the anger in Yuki with despair. He slumped down onto the edge of the bed. "I can't do that, Hatori. I just can't. I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to her. He could be doing anything to her right now. There's no one there to protect her."

Kyou was still furious. "Tohru's such an idiot! She's going to say something stupid and he'll snap. I won't leave her alone there, no matter what happens to me." He turned to leave but Hatsuharu caught his arm in an iron grip. The boys hadn't even noticed his presence in the room.

"No." His face was sorrowful. "Hatori's right. It will be better in the long run if you leave them alone. If Akito sees that the two of you are worried enough to challenge him then your cozy life at Shigure's will be over. You'll be forced to live here, probably as Akito's pets, and Tohru will have her memory erased. We can't let him think that she's a threat to his control."

Hatori spoke up again. "This might even be a test. I know that Akito realizes you care for her. It's possible that he called her to him this afternoon to see if you will run to her aid, or disobey him, or even work together for her sake."

Yuki was surprised at himself for even thinking that he would put aside his hatred for the baka neko to help Tohru. Nothing was more important to him than her safety. Nothing! Kyou, on the other hand, hadn't even thought of that. Cooperating with Yuki was a morbid idea, but he couldn't handle Akito alone and he knew it. Hatori and Hatsuharu were right.

Rin sat up in the bed and spoke for the first time. "Tohru is a powerful person, in her own way. Nothing will ever break her spirit, not even your true form, Kyou. Let's just be there for her when Akito is done. She's talked to him before, and she's been okay. If anything awful does happen, we'll find a way to ease her suffering. We all will." With that, the room fell silent. Neither Yuki nor Kyou made a move for the door, not because they didn't care but because they did.

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Kureno opened the door to the darkened room and led Tohru inside. Stopping in the middle, he pushed Tohru's shoulder down so that she was kneeling. Tohru was frightened out of her mind, but she promised herself that she would be strong and try not to make Akito angry again.

"Leave us," came a raspy voice from the shadows. Kureno squeezed Tohru's shoulder once to try and comfort the poor girl and left the room, shutting the door in his wake. "So," Akito said, stepping into the faint light. "How is your New Years going, Honda Tohru?"

Tohru was a little shocked at the normality of the question. "V-Very well." She wasn't sure what else to say.

"I see that you're having a good time with Kyou. You should be careful on roofs at night. If you fell and died, many would mourn your passing." Akito approached Tohru and hovered in front of her. "I see by your idiotic expression that you don't follow me, so let me explain; nothing goes on here that I don't know about. Don't you think I know where to look for Kyou on New Years Eve? That disgusting Cat is too predictable. What a romantic time that must have been, alone on the rooftop, watching the fireworks, flying your kite. Kyou seemed to have an especially good time, but he paid for it this morning.

"And let's not forget dear Yuki. You must be quite important for him to take you to that garden of his. He may feel free there, but then stepping out of that false freedom and back into the curse must seem twice as oppressive. When he was a child, he thought he could hide from me there. Once he even spent the night there, freezing from the cold. The asthma attack he got from that nearly killed him. You should have seen his face in the morning when I came to get him. He knew that I had left him there with false hope of escape just to prove that I alone have control over him.

"Are you wondering why I'm telling you this, you stupid wench? You may think your little life is carefree and perfect, but you're wrong. You're living a lie. The only reason I allow you to live with my cousins is because it tortures them. They are experiencing the affections of an outsider, but this is all to change soon. You know that in three months, Kyou will be locked away for the rest of his life. His imprisonment will be even bitterer if he has happiness to compare it to. Yuki will be forced to come back to me, and the confines of this house will be overbearing in contrast to the taste of freedom that you have given him. Don't you see? This is all only happening because _I_ allow it to! They cannot defy me!"

Tohru sat in silence through Akito's tirade, not knowing if she should respond or nod or look at him or sit still. She could feel him next to her, as he had moved closer and closer to her as he spoke, his voice softer and seemingly more threatening. At his last remarks he had put his hand on her chin, cupping it in a fierce grip and forcing her to look at him. Tohru shivered.

"I see that my comments have taken hold. Their increased suffering will all be your fault, and there's nothing you can do about it now. You won't say a word to anyone about what I told you. We'll let them think that I inflicted another kind of pain. Let's see…last time I believe I scratched your face…. This time…" Akito let his sentence fade as an evil smile graced his lips. Using the hand that was on her chin, he pressed his fingers into either cheek and forcefully dragged her to her feet. Tohru flailed desperately, but Akito just gave her his mirthless laugh. Drawing her face close to his, he playfully let his hot breath tickle her lips. "What is it that they like about you? You don't seem very interesting to me. You certainly aren't anything to look at. Maybe I just need to see for myself." 

Tohru was frozen with fear of what he was going to do. She was terrified that he was going to kiss her, but that didn't happen. Without warning, he flung her as hard as he could across the room, her shoulder slamming into the wall. All thought left her as the agony from her shoulder consumed her mind. Never had anything hurt like that before. Vaguely, Tohru was aware of Akito calling Kureno back into the room.

--------------------------

Kureno gingerly helped Tohru to her feet and led her through the house to the entrance. Once outside, Tohru slipped from the supporting grip he had on her good arm and fell to the ground, sobbing unabashedly. Kureno knew that he couldn't get her to walk back to Hatori, so he decided to bring the doctor to her. "Honda-san, stay here. I'll be right back with help. You're going to be okay, I promise." Then he ran as fast as he could to Kagura's house, where he knew Hatori was staying with Rin.

Busting in through the door, he ran up to Rin's room. Hatori, Kagura, Rin, Hatsuharu, Yuki, and Kyou were all there, looking pretty surprised at his presence. Kyou came to life first. "What happened? Is Tohru all right? Where is she?" He was losing his temper, Kureno could see. Typical.

"Hatori-san, I need you to come to her. She's outside Akito-sama's and her shoulder is hurt. I believe it's dislocated." Hatori actually looked a little relieved. 'Perhaps they had been expecting the worst,' thought Kureno. They all rose to their feet, including Rin even after a reproachful look from Haru, and followed Kureno as he ran back to Tohru. She was still wracked with sobs, but only she knew they were from more than her shoulder.

Hatori quickly examined her shoulder and nodded. "Yes, it is dislocated. It's a painful injury, but not too serious. Are you hurt anywhere else, Honda-kun?" Tohru shook her head and looked around through her tears. Yuki and Kyou had identical looks of sympathy and anger on their faces. They appeared to be mute from shock. The Cow had definitely turned into Black Haru; it was obvious from the ferocious glimmer in his eyes. Kagura and Rin were kneeling beside her and supporting her weight. She felt herself going weak from the pain. 

Hatori interrupted her surveillance. "Kagura, wrap your arms around her and hold onto her with all of your strength. This is going to be excruciating, but if we do it right the first time, it'll be over. Rin, try to distract her." 'At least he girls have their heads on straight,' thought Hatori. 'Haru, Yuki, and Kyou look like bombs ready to go off.' After Kagura had positioned her arms around Tohru's torso and Rin was talking to her about her dress, Hatori lifted up Tohru's arm and firmly pulled. A few seconds later, a loud pop was heard and Tohru's scream died. She had fainted because of the procedure, but she was going to be fine.

Rin and Kagura carried Tohru back to her room in the guest house. It was quite an endeavor because they couldn't touch her tender arm and Rin was weak from being sick. Kagura was out of breath by the time they got Tohru up the stairs and into bed. Tohru was still passed out, and they didn't want to wake her. Hatori wrapped her arm in a sling he kept in his doctor's bag and told them that she wasn't to use it for at least two days, and it would probably be frail for a week. He ushered everyone out of the room and shut the door.

Back at Kagura's house, Yuki spoke for the first time. "I failed her. I should have gone there and protected her anyway." He couldn't stop picturing her crying form, lying hurt and alone on the ground. He would never forgive himself.

"The situation is the same. There was nothing you could have done. Her injury was minor, thankfully. Knowing that girl, she'll probably say it didn't hurt at all and be back to her normal self in no time," Hatori said.

Black Haru grinned at Kyou. "Hey, Kyou, maybe you can make her some leek stew."

Kyou had no idea how Haru had found out about that, but it pissed him off even more. "Bastard!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. But he wasn't talking about Hatsuharu. He wasn't even talking about Akito, although he was a bastard, too. He really meant himself, for allowing Tohru to get hurt. He sat down on the floor, facing away from the others, brooding.

Rin had a thoughful expression. "I wonder though. Akito doesn't often strike someone without supplementing it with words. What do you think he said to her?"

Hatori answered. "Yes, Rin, I was thinking the same thing. We won't know until we talk to her. We'll all have to take care with her and watch for any damage he might have done. Especially you, Yuki and Kyou, and Shigure, as well. I think you should take her home tomorrow and get her away from Sohma house. I'll drive you in the afternoon once she's fully rested."

Shortly afterwards, they all departed. Rin went up to her room to go to bed, Haru in tow to keep her company. Kagura had some tea and then went to bed herself. Hatori stood outside his office, chain-smoking cigarettes and staring at nothing. Yuki sat at the desk in his guest room and silently gazed at a picture of himself and Tohru at the beachhouse last summer, laughing and running in the sand. Kyou crawled onto the roof, right over Tohru's room, and thought about her goofy smile. Tohru lay asleep, but her dreams were dark and foreboding.

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A/N: Okay, I see from my reviews that people have a favorite between Kyou and Yuki. I do also, but that doesn't mean this is going to be a Kyouru or Yukiru fic, nor does it mean it's anti-Kyou or anti-Yuki. Rather, I hope to keep my readers guessing and happy at the same time. I like them both and they're both fun to write, so I'll try not to let my bias show in the story too much. I think both types of fans will be satisfied with the end. Anyway, I'm rambling, so I'll shut up about that.

Please keep reading and reviewing. The story is just starting to get juicy!

Thank you reviewers: Lady Kara, MoO-MOo3, Miaka Mouse, bookitty, kireina, and of course Zapenstap.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't sue me. I don't own Fruits Basket (sob, sob). I'm just trying to feed my addiction.

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Chapter 4:

Tohru awoke in the half-light of her guest room. She knew she shouldn't be awake at this early hour, but she didn't think she could sleep any longer. Besides, with last night's events rushing back to her mind, she felt fully alert and frantic. Slowly, she remembered the cruel words that echoed so true in her heart; the fear she felt at Akito's mouth so close to hers; the breath knocked out of her when she smacked into the wall; Kureno's cautious support; the faces of her friends at the sight of her; and the last thing, Kagura and Hatori seemingly trying to pull her apart at the shoulder. Tohru placed her right arm under the covers and felt at the sling holding her tender shoulder in place. Her mind wasn't on her injury, though.

Could Akito really be so mean as to punish them all in that manner? Tohru knew of some of the things that Akito had done to the Jyuunishi, like how he had punished Rin after finding out about she and Haru, how Kisa had been abused, and how Hatori had lost his eye. She could understand that knowing his life would be cut short was something terrible to live with, something she couldn't even imagine, but Akito was so awful to his own family. Tohru thought bleakly about the lives of the cursed Jyuunishi, especially Akito, until she felt like she might cry.

'I won't let on about anything,' the thought determinedly. 'I don't think Akito is right. I think- I think that Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun could use all the happiness they can get. I'll try to make their last few months as happy as possible. And I'll find a way somehow to break the curse and save them all. Even Akito.' Nothing could keep Tohru's spirit down for long. If Yuki and Kyou were locked up, she would never stop trying to save them, even if it meant interfering with Akito, even if it meant getting hurt. The Sohmas had done so much for her and she just had to do something for them. "I want to find a way to stay with them forever, just like we promised."

A movement caught the corner of her eye. The door was sliding open to expose an orange head. "Tohru? Are you okay? I heard you talking in here." Kyou looked like he hadn't slept all night. His eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. As he stepped fully into the room, Tohru saw that he was wearing the same clothes as the day before.

She blushed, eyebrows arching apologetically. "Kyou-kun! No, I'm fine, really. I guess I was just talking out loud again. Sorry! Please, Kyou-kun, don't worry about me! You need some sleep, Kyou-kun. Have you been awake all night?" Tohru started to sit up, intending to lead Kyou back to bed.

Kyou saw that Tohru was rising and quickly moved to the side of the bed, pushing her back down. "No, Tohru, I'm fine," he said a bit angrily. "You're the one who went off to see Akito and got hurt. Why do you have to worry everyone so much?"

"I'm very sorry, Kyou-kun! I didn't know what else to do. I don't think Akito meant to hurt my shoulder. It was an accident." Tohru felt terrible lying to Kyou, but she didn't want to have to explain anything about her visit with him.

"Like hell it was an accident," Kyou admonished. "Just relax. Let me take a look at it." Tohru felt herself blush fiercely as Kyou guided her head so it was tilting away from her left shoulder, giving him a better view. Her skin tingled at his touch, making her feel curiously fuzzy. He swept her hair away from her neck and pulled the covers down a tad, and if she had had the nerve to look at his face, she would have seen that his blush was even deeper than hers was. Kagura had dressed her in a sleeveless nightshirt so Hatori could put the sling on easily, and now Kyou was face to face with her delicate arm. He swallowed hard and began massaging her shoulder with a feathery touch.

An uncomfortable silence developed, so Kyou started babbling. "Dislocated shoulders hurt a lot, but they're not too bad. They're pretty common in martial arts, you know. I've never had one before, but I saw a ton of 'em growing up at Shishou's dojo. Whenever guys would get 'em, Shishou would massage their arm like this. He told me that it's an old method that makes it bruise less or something like that. I'm probably not doing it right; I haven't seen it done in a long time." Kyou swallowed again. 'Gods, but she's soft.' When that thought crossed his mind, he got scared and pulled his hand away, hastily replacing the covers. 'I shouldn't be thinking about that!' he scolded himself.

Tohru turned her head back to him and smiled. "Thank you, Kyou-kun. That felt very relaxing. I'm sure you did a very good job. Kazuma-san would be proud of you." 

Kyou muttered something non-committal under his breath and stood up, nervously scratching the back of his head. "Uh, you know, if there's anything you wanna talk about, you know, like about Akito and stuff, you can talk to me about it any time." With that he walked to the doorway. "Um, Hatori says he's driving us home later today, just so you know. I'm going to go get someone to bring you breakfast or whatever." Kyou left the room and headed to find a maid to bring her food. 'I sounded like a moron! What was I thinking?'

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Shigure quietly emerged from his room when he heard Kyou's stomping footsteps down the stairs. 'He even _walks_ with a temper!' Shigure thought with wonder. Creeping across the hall, he ducked into Tohru's room. "Oh, good morning, Shigure-san!" greeted the smiling girl.

"Good morning, sweet Tohru-kun. I trust you feel better after a full night's rest? Ha-san told me of what happened."

"Yes, I feel much better. Kyou-kun used a martial arts technique to massage my shoulder. It helped a lot." 

Shigure smirked at that. Probably there was no such technique, but he let it slide. "Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun were quite worried about you. I think you'll find that you have two doting servants when you get back to the house today. I wish I could be there to see it." Shigure gave Tohru his mischievous smile.

"Are you not coming back with us, Shigure-san?" asked Tohru.

Shigure put the back of his hand to his forehead, closed his eyes, and answered dramatically. "Alas, no, I must stay here until the day after tomorrow, helping clean up after the festivities. The work of the faithful Dog is never complete." Finishing his rant, he returned to a normal pose and laughed. "Hatori says you have to take it easy for a few days, so I guess you'll be stuck with Kyou's cooking and Yuki's cleaning until you're better. Good luck!" 

Tohru giggled. "I'm sure we'll do fine, Shigure-san. Kyou-kun's cooking is really very good, and I'm not totally useless." Tohru demonstrated by waving her right arm wildly over her head. Suddenly she put it down and looked upset. "Um, Shigure-san, there is one problem. I don't think I can get dressed by myself, though."

Shigure beamed. "Let me help you!" He took one step toward Tohru when an unseen blow knocked him to the floor.

"No you won't, you disgusting pervert!" Yuki decided that he had arrived at precisely the right time. "Why don't you do something that's actually useful and go get someone to help Honda-san. As in a maid or Kagura." Yuki was still furious with Shigure for his apathy the day before.

Shigure looked utterly chagrined. "Yuki-kun! I didn't notice you there. See you later, Tohru-kun." He sidled out of the room, leaving Yuki alone with Tohru. Immediately Yuki's face lost all of its anger and softened in a smile.

"Honda-san, you seem to be feeling better this morning. I hope your shoulder isn't giving you too much trouble."

Tohru blushed once again. "I'm really okay, Yuki-kun. Everyone is worrying so much. I can barely feel any pain at all anymore."

Yuki pulled the desk chair to the bedside and sat down, his expression becoming sad. "That only shows how important you are to us, Honda-san. I can't help but feel guilty about this whole situation. I shouldn't have let you go by yourself to see Akito, or better yet, I shouldn't have let you go at all. Now look at you. You are hurt and I am to blame."

Tohru responded in a subdued voice that seemed out of place for the normally self-effacing and simple girl. There was almost a sage look in her eyes, causing Yuki to stare at her strangely. "No, Yuki-kun. Akito-san would have been very angry if I hadn't gone to see him. I wouldn't have let you come with me, and neither would've Akito-san. I just want us to go home and live our normal lives. Please can we do that?"

Yuki wasn't used to Tohru talking in this bizarre, uncharacteristic way. "Of course, Honda-san. Nothing will change. We'll go home in a couple of hours and return to our lives. Forget about whatever it was Akito said to you. He can be very manipulative." Now he was convinced that Akito _had_ said something to her, because of the way she had spoken and also the slight flinch at his last statement. Damn him!

Tohru flushed at their discussion. 'I sound really weird!' she thought. 'I hope he doesn't notice.' Forcing a smile, she changed the line of conversation. "You and Kyou-kun don't have to treat me any differently at home. I can do everything just using one arm…except maybe carry groceries, and doing laundry will take longer, and making the beds might be hard…. That's okay, though. Honda Tohru can do it!"

Yuki chuckled. As quickly as that she was back to herself. "Honda-san, with that attitude, you should consider writing self-help books." He was trying to make a joke, but he was only making himself laugh. Tohru had her head cocked to one side, an obvious look of confusion on her face, which only made him laugh harder. "Never mind, Honda-san," he finally got out. Only Tohru could ever make him do that. Her presence was so freeing. "Well, I suppose if we're going to leave soon, I should let you get ready. I'm fairly hungry, myself. Would you like me to bring you breakfast?"

"Uh, thank you, Yuki-kun, but Kyou-kun is taking care of that." 

Yuki's smile disappeared altogether. So, the baka neko had already seen her this morning. What a way to ruin his appetite, thinking about the Cat with Tohru. "Okay, Honda-san, I'll just come to get you later, then."

Tohru watched Yuki walk away with a content feeling. After her experience with Akito, Yuki and Kyou's fighting seemed oddly comforting. It was a comfort that she hadn't noticed so blatantly before, like when her mother had made her hot tea after playing in the snow all day. Yuki and Kyou were as close to her as any family, as even her mother had been. She couldn't help but feel safe with them, the way they protected her.

"I thought I told you that you should only be spacey when I'm here to watch over you," a voice called to her in her daydream. Kyou's face came into focus.

"Right!" She must remember not to drift like that. She really could've been kidnapped, well maybe not in the Honke, but if she was somewhere else and did that she could be, and Kyou-kun would be mad if she didn't take his advice and-

"Oi! You're doing it again. I mean, I'm here now and it's okay, but if you can't even control it what am I supposed to do? Waste my time following you around making sure you don't walk out in front of buses?" Kyou was starting to sound a little mad again.

"Right!"

Kyou moaned melodramatically. "Not this again! Look, snap out of it! All the maids were busy so I had to get you something to eat instead. I didn't know what you wanted, so I got some of everything, or at least until I ran out of room." Tohru finally noticed the plate that was set on the desk. It looked like the leaning tower of breakfast.

"Wow, Kyou-kun! It must have taken all of your martial arts skill to carry that without spilling anything!" Tohru was honestly in awe of his balancing talents.

Kyou looked at Tohru like her hair had suddenly turned blue. "Uh, you're really weird. And I didn't make it without spilling, but don't tell anyone. The housekeepers here can get kinda nasty about that sort of thing. Why don't you stop staring at the food and try eating it?" Kyou folded his arms and started tapping his foot, obviously waiting for her to get up and do something.

"Okay, Kyou-kun." Tohru got up and was going to drag the chair back over to the desk, but before she even closed her fingers around it, Kyou brushed her arm away and moved it for her. He also pushed the chair in as she sat down and hovered over her while she picked and chose what to eat on the plate. He really was overreacting.

As Tohru was about to announce that she couldn't eat another bite, Shigure came back into the room, followed by Kagura. "Tohru-kun," he began in his singsong voice, "I found Kagura-chan to help you change into clothes. Oh, good morning, Kyou-kun. I see you traveled far to bring Tohru sustenance to fill the void in her midsection."

"If you mean breakfast, you freak, then yeah, I did. Hey, Kagura." 

"Morning, Kyou"

Both Kagura and Kyou realized that the other two people in the room didn't know about their newly settled relationship. Tohru stared like she was hypnotized, an open-mouth smile on her face. Shigure looked as though he was going to faint.

Kagura ended the silence. "Oh, Shi-san. You don't have to worry about me breaking your house anymore. Kyou and I have decided that we're just going to be friends." At that, Shigure really did faint dead away.

---------------------

After Shigure was revived and luggage was put into Hatori's car, Tohru said good-bye to her hosts. "Thank you all so much for a wonderful holiday," she told the small crowd that was there to see her off.

"Bye, Oneechan. Maybe Hiro-chan and I will come visit you on Sunday." Kisa instantly grabbed onto Tohru's waist and stayed awkwardly in place as she wished everyone else farewell.

"Bye, To-ru! I'll see you at school!" Momiji's tone was light-hearted as ever.

"Bye, Momiji-kun!"

Ritsu panicked as Tohru approached him. "Honda-san, I'm very sorry that I didn't get to spend more time with you! I'm such a horrible person! Please, don't even look at my shameful face!"

Tohru had learned how to deal with Ritsu, though. "No, no Ri-chan-san, I really enjoyed the time we spent together. You should visit sometime and we can talk more." That seemed to appease him.

Shigure and Ayame stood next to each other, identical grins on their faces. "Now, Tohru-kun, I'm counting on you to keep my house in one piece until I get home. Don't let Kyou break any doors."

"And I'll keep Gure-san in one piece!" Ayame cut in. "Isn't that right, Gure-san? You know, I was very cold last night in bed by myself. Your body heat would be much appreciated tonight."

"Aya, you know I can't refuse that offer." Tohru was watching their teasing conversation, realizing that they had forgotten her standing there. Hiro, who was following Tohru around because Kisa was hanging off of her, pushed Tohru away from his older cousins.

Frowning, he reprimanded Tohru. "You're holding up the show, here. I have better things to do than wait for you to watch those idiots flirt with each other." Blushing, Tohru nodded at Hiro and kept moving.

Kagura, Rin, and Hatsuharu were the last people to say good-bye to. Before Tohru could say anything, Kagura and Rin enveloped her in a huge embrace.

"Good-bye, Tohru-chan. I'll come visit you as soon as possible. Don't let Kyou be too mean." Kagura smiled down and straightened Tohru's hair in a sisterly way. 

"Hope you feel better, Tohru-kun," said Rin, her smile one of complete tranquillity for once. "I told Haru to keep an eye on you at school for me. Maybe I can come with Kagura sometime to see you." 

"Thank you, Kagura-san, Isuzu-san. Your friendship is very special to me. I would love to visit with both of you, as often as possible."

"I don't know if you wanna say that. They like you so much that you may never get rid of them." Haru's remark was in jest, and he accompanied it by playfully rapping his knuckles on Kagura's head with one hand and pulling Rin into his chest with the other. "We want you to get well soon, Honda-san. I'll see you on Monday."

With that, Hatori pulled Tohru out of Kisa's grip and ushered her into the front seat of the car. Kyou and Yuki had also made their good-byes and were in the back seat, pointedly looking away from each other, out the windows. Tohru waved as the car drove off down the road. 'What an eventful New Years!' she thought. 'I hope Kyou-kun and Yuki-kun aren't too mad about leaving early.'

"Now that _that's_ over with!" Yuki sighed.

"Being around all those brats all day gives me a headache," complained Kyou.

"Don't worry, Honda-kun. They didn't want to stay any longer." Hatori said that too low for the boys to hear in the back seat. Tohru looked up at Hatori questioningly, but he only lifted the corners of his mouth in a small smile, eyes still on the road.

'How did he know what I was thinking?' Tohru pondered. 'Oh, well. At least we're going home.'

-----------------------------

A/N: Okay, so nothing much happened in this chapter, but you've got to have that filler stuff to make the action more interesting. I tried to make it funny to compensate for the lack of plot build up. The actual plot of my story will start to develop probably next chapter, which I will rush to deliver. I'll put some more Yuki in, too. He didn't show up much in this chapter because of his total absence of a decent sense of humor. Please, if you read my story, write a review, even if you think my writing is abominable. 

Reviewers:

Thank you very much to the people who reviewed my previous chapters. I appreciate it tremendously.

Lady Kara- Thank you for being a dedicated reader and reviewer!

BBsweet- I considered having Akito kiss her to make it extra creepy, but I think Tohru was scared enough as it was. Also, I think Akito is so revolted by Tohru that he wouldn't want to do that. And don't worry, Akito is just getting started!

Celarina- I don't think my writing is above suggestions, but it's a lovely compliment!

Zapenstap- Patience is a virtue, grasshopper. I'm writing as fast as I can, and you already know a lot of the plot, so calm yourself!

MoO-mOo3- yay! i updated again!! J 

Sakura Avalon and Snazzygirl- Yukiru? Kyouru? I don't know! It's definitely one of the two, but you'll have to read and find out. I'm not being mean, I just haven't decided myself yet.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Can I borrow Black Haru for a little while, though?

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Chapter 5:

Hatori pulled the car into the driveway and turned it off. Before Tohru could try and get out herself, Hatori had come around to her door and was lifting her out of the vehicle. "You'll need resist using that arm for several days until it's completely healed. If you strain it too much, you could make it worse and possibly inflict permanent muscle damage. I've already told Yuki and Kyou to make sure that you heed those instructions."

Yuki had walked over to them and was nodding with Hatori's command. "Yes, Honda-san. Leave everything up to me. I won't have you hurting yourself further."

"Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are too good to me!" Tohru smiled at Yuki and turned to share the smile with Kyou, but he wasn't out of the car yet. She peered around Yuki and saw that Kyou was fast asleep, his head resting on the window. "Eh? Oh no!" Tohru became panicked. "Poor Kyou-kun stayed up all night worrying about me and now he's asleep in the car! What are we going to do?!?" She began running around in a frenzied little circle.

Hatori halted her with his voice. "Tohru! This isn't doing you any good. If Kyou stayed up all night after I told him it was unnecessary then he's the only one to blame if he sleeps all day."

"I'm sorry, Hatori-san. I shouldn't have run around like that right after you told me to be careful of my arm. But what are we going to do about Kyou-kun? We can't just wake him up!" Tohru looked mollified at the thought of waking a sleeping person.

"That baka neko can't sleep in Hatori's car all day." Yuki was angry that Tohru worried so much about that stupid Cat's feelings and even angrier that he was jealous. Without another word, he opened the car door, causing Kyou to fall onto the driveway with a thud.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing, kuso nezumi?" Kyou pushed himself off the ground and shook his head vigorously, trying to wake up. "You gonna start fights while I'm sleeping now?" Kyou jutted out his lower jaw, clenched his fists, and leaned into Yuki's face.

Hatori interrupted before the fight escalated. "Both of you assured me that you could hold back your tempers until Shigure got back. If you can't even make it into the house without an altercation then I'm afraid I'll just have to take Tohru back to the Honke with me." 'That ought to get through to them,' he thought. It did. They began yelling at him over each other.

"Hatori, you wouldn't dare take Honda-san back there."

"Try, it! I didn't start that fight anyway! That damn Rat did!"

"Fine. Kyou, why don't you go take a nap? And try not to be in such a horrible mood when you wake up next time. Yuki, stay with Honda-kun. Why don't you make her something to eat?" Without waiting for their answers, he got in his car and drove away.

"I'm going to bed!" Kyou stormed off into the house, slamming the door as he went.

Tohru seemed to be in a trance, her face was frozen in hysteria. "Honda-san?" Yuki gently laid a hand on her good arm.

"Ah! Oh, Yuki-kun." At least her trance had gone. The hysteria remained, though.

"Let's go inside, Honda-san." Yuki moved his hand to between her shoulder blades and guided her into the house. "Don't worry about him. Are you hungry for lunch?" Yuki had no intention of cooking anything ever.

------------------

Yuki and Tohru sat at the table eating their bento boxes. Yuki had finally convinced Tohru that he wanted to buy her lunch and that it was no trouble. He scoffed at himself mentally. He was becoming so gullible when it came to her that he had even bought Kyou lunch so she wouldn't worry about him starving. So far the Cat hadn't woken up, though, so his waited for him in the refrigerator. "Are you excited that high school is almost over, Honda-san?"

"Huh?" Tohru looked up from her food. "Oh, well I guess so. I just hope I can graduate and make Mom proud."

"You've passed all of your midterms this year, right? I'll help you study more if you're worried."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun. I think I'm just nervous because it's almost over. I haven't even thought about what to do afterwards." Tohru shut her mouth with a click. Neither Yuki nor Kyou had very bright futures, so Tohru tried not to talk about what would happen after school was over. "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun. I know you don't like to talk about going back to live in the main house."

Yuki smiled at Tohru's bowed head. She always tried so hard not to say anything to upset anyone. "It's okay, Honda-san. Shigure, Hatori, and even my brother have gone on to the careers they wanted despite the curse. I'm sure I will find something like they have. Besides, I've grown up knowing what life was going to be like for me, staying close to the Honke and keeping the family private."

Tohru lifted her head slightly to look at Yuki's face. "But Yuki-kun, you always talk about how much you want to get away from the main house…and Akito-san."

Sighing, Yuking looked intently into Tohru's eyes. "Yes, it was something I wanted to get away from my whole life. I dreamt of the day when I could run away or that the curse would be broken, but I never actually ran away and I never really tried to break the curse."

Now Tohru was even more confused. "But why, Yuki-kun? Did you just give up?"

"No, Honda-san, it's not like that. I never did those things because I think I always knew deep down that it wasn't possible. If I ran, Akito would find me, and no one has broken the curse in all the generations that it has passed down through our family. Remember that night in the woods, what I said to Kyou?" Tohru looked down at her hands, unsure of how to answer that. They tried never to bring that up. Yuki leaned his head closer to hers and continued. "I said that I didn't want to run anymore, and it's true. I can't run and likely the curse won't be broken. All I can do, then, is live my life the best that I can. Akito will never let me be as free as Shigure or Ayame, because of his feelings towards me, but I have to make the most of whatever he gives me."

Tohru couldn't fully comprehend the level of Yuki's sacrifice, but she knew this was a huge decision for him. "Won't you be sad, though, Yuki-kun? Do you really mean all those things?"

"Yes, Honda-san. I've been thinking about this for a year now. You're the first person that knows how I feel about it, and probably the only one I'll tell, because you're the reason that I changed my mind." Tohru blushed and looked away. How could she be the reason for Yuki-kun to do something like that? "Listen to me, Honda-san. These have been the best years of my life, spent with you in this house. If I can have these memories of you when I go back to the Honke, then life will never be sad for me, no matter what Akito does."

To Yuki's surprise, Tohru burst into tears and clutched onto his arm, strangling it in the only type of hug they could share. She was so relieved at those words, even if they crushed her heart. She didn't ever want to leave Yuki or Kyou.

"Honda-san, what's wrong? Please don't cry." Yuki awkwardly patted her head, waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing. I can't talk about it," she sobbed into his arm. Yuki was puzzled at her response. Tohru was the person who could get you to talk about anything. She didn't say things like 'I can't talk about it.'

In a rush, the events of the day before came to his mind. This definitely had to do with Akito. "Honda-san! What did he say to you?" She just shook her head. This was really making him mad. "Did he tell you not to say anything about it?" Her lack of reaction gave her away. "Honda-san! He can't tell you what to do. You're not a Jyuunishi. Whatever it was he said to you, it's only meant to hurt you. That's the way he works, by brainwashing and manipulation. What did he say to you?!" Damnit, if he said something so terrible that she was acting like this….

"He- he said that if your lives are sad it's my fault." Tohru felt sick at the idea of disobeying Akito, but if Yuki meant what he said, then Akito was wrong. She hoped that Akito was wrong.

"Why?" How could Tohru make him sad? She only made him happy.

"He said that he lets me live here to punish you, so you'll be more sad when you have to go back to live with him." Tohru closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look at Yuki's face right then.

"But I don't understand, Honda-san. What does that mean?"

"It's because you'll have happiness to compare your life with, and it will be worse for you when you're Akito-san's. I'm so sorry, Yuki-kun. I didn't mean to hurt you or Kyou-kun. I wish I had never come to live here, so you wouldn't be sad." Tohru slipped from Yuki's arm as he abruptly stood up. Mouth hanging open in shock, he left her sitting there crying and walked numbly to his secret base.

Ripping the strawberry plants from the ground, Yuki hurled them at a nearby tree. "How could you do this to her?!" he screamed. Tears welled in his eyes as he walked over to lean against the tree, sliding down to sit at its base.

--------------------

Kyou walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. 'Ah, lunch!' he thought, looking at the bento box. His stomach was protesting the length of time since breakfast. Carrying the food into the dining room, he was startled to see Tohru sobbing on the floor. "Tohru?" She didn't even look at him. "What did that damn Rat do to you?!?" Still no response. He didn't care what Hatori said, this called for a fight. "Stay there. I'll be right back." He knew where he could find that bastard, and he'd make him pay for this.

Approaching Yuki in the garden, Kyou got a burst of adrenaline. "What did you say to her? We're on, right now!" Yuki didn't even move. "Oi, kuso nezumi, I'm talking to you!"

Yuki raised his head to look bleary-eyed at Kyou. "I'm not fighting you, Kyou." Kyou was stunned at Yuki's appearance and his use of Kyou's name. "It's over."

Kyou responded in the only way he knew: anger. "What the hell does that mean? You can't make her cry like that!"

"You don't understand," Yuki said in a dangerously low voice. "Just listen, you stupid Cat." Kyou felt himself go stiffer and stiffer as Yuki related his conversation with Tohru. "Those words. It's like Kana. He made her think that everything was her fault, that it would be better for us if we had never met. Now he gets his way. She'll have her memory erased and we'll be his prisoners, without her."

Kyou stared blankly. "I'm not going to let that happen. I won't!" His calm tone belied his words. His hands turned to fists and he repeated himself in a resolute voice. "I won't let that happen!" Turning on his heel, he ran back to the house. 

"Tohru! Stop crying!" He knelt at her side and forced her head up. Tohru's face was slick with tears, but he wiped them away. "He's wrong! You can't make my life sad. Akito's just a sick bastard who likes to hurt people. Don't let him hurt you!"

Tohru shook her head again and put it back down. Kyou looked up at the door and saw that Yuki was standing there now. "You, too, kuso nezumi! Are you going to let that asshole control you forever? I'm not! Tohru, I know you don't wish that you never met me. Or that damn Rat, either."

Yuki came and knelt on the other side of Tohru. "The baka neko is right for once in his life, Honda-san. We can't let him get what he wants this time." Kyou was surprised at Yuki's sudden change in opinion. At least someone had gotten some sense.

Tohru sniffled and sat up. "Really? Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun aren't angry with me? I didn't know what to do."

"Of course we're not angry with you, Honda-san. I want to be with you no matter what. I think Akito sees you as a rival, and he tried to break you. Now that we know what he was doing, it won't work." Yuki smiled at Tohru. 

Kyou felt weird smiling at her in front of the Rat, but he tried his best. "Yeah, we're onto him now. Just don't go see him anymore."

"Okay, Kyou-kun. Please, let's try to be happy until school is over. I don't want to think about those things anymore," Tohru said, her mind at ease from their reassurance.

"Good afternoon, children!" All three looked up in surprise at Shigure's shrill voice. He was leering at them from the doorway.

"Shigure-san!" Tohru was pleased to see him.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kyou, on the other hand, was not pleased.

"Kyou-kun, must you greet your poor, overworked cousin in that harsh manner?" Shigure asked in mock dismay.

"Yeah! You aren't supposed to come home for two days!"

"It is a matter of great urgency that brings me here. Mit-chan called at the Honke insisting that I give her the 200 pages of my novel that I was supposed to give her before New Years. I told her I'd finish them today." He put a hand up to the side of his mouth as if telling them a secret. "I already have them done, but it's so much fun to harass her!"

"That doesn't explain why you're here," Yuki said in monotone.

"Um, yes, well. I have them done, but I forgot them here. She'll be over in a little bit. But don't worry, I'm going back to the Honke when she leaves."

"Good," breathed Yuki.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," said Shigure. A call of "Gure-san!" from outside made Yuki give Shigure a death-glare. "Oh," Shigure added innocently. "I almost forgot! I brought Aya with me." He tried to tiptoe out of the room, but Yuki sent him to the floor in a rage.

"Gure-san!" called Ayame from outside again. "I can't figure out how to turn Tori-san's car off."

At that, Kyou punched Shigure, too. "You let him _drive_?!"

--------------------

Much fighting and arguing ensued, until Shigure was sprawled in agony on the floor and Ayame worked out how to pull the key from the ignition. Both Yuki and Kyou were back in foul moods. Tohru, of course, was running around, making tea, fawning over Shigure's bruises. Mii only increased the stress level.

"Sensei! Where are the pages you promised me???" Mii flailed on the ground, barely coherent.

"Mii-chan, how can you think about a novel when I lie here dying. The world is growing dark. Good-bye, sweet editor!" Shigure then played out a very unbelievable death scene, complete with writhing and moaning and twitching until he finally lay still. Mii changed from distraught to furious in a matter of seconds and was at his side, beating on his chest roughly until he arose, grabbing her wrists. He may have been being ridiculous, but he knew enough not to let her accidentally transform him.

"Fine, fine." Shigure brightened as he was struck with a fabulous idea. "I know! How about a scavenger hunt, Mit-chan? With the pages as the prize!"

"A scavenger hunt? I want to play, too, Gure-san!" Ayame danced around laughing.

"Oh, brother," mumbled Kyou.

"Ah! A wonderful idea, Kyonkichi! Yuki, come on a scavenger hunt with your dashing older brother!" Without waiting for an answer, Ayame grabbed Yuki's hand and dragged him around the room chanting, "Scavenger hunt, scavenger hunt!" and laughing maniacally.

So, for the next two hours, everyone was forced to go on an elaborate scavenger hunt designed by Shigure. The clues were wordy and complicated, of course, and in all honesty didn't make much sense. Shigure laughed heartily, watching Mii get more and more agitated as time passed. With the help of the others, though, especially Yuki (to everyone's surprise), Mii finally left with her pages. She nearly had a stroke when the last clue led to Shigure's desk, but clutching the precious pages in hand, she ran out of the house instead of saying another word about it. Shigure and Ayame also left, with Shigure driving. Yuki, Kyou, and Tohru weren't sure if that was any better than Ayame driving. No one knew if they even had licenses. And so the three went back inside and had a thankfully quiet dinner before going to bed.

--------------------

Shigure pulled into Hatori's parking spot with the headlights off. They hadn't exactly gotten permission to take his car, but Hatori shouldn't mind…too much. Shigure got out of the car and walked directly into Hatori's chest. The Dragon was looking much like his namesake with that penetrating stare. "Ha-san, so good to see you! Aya and I were just making sure your…er…battery wasn't dead." He tried to give Hatori a sheepish smile.

"Oh, Tori-san! I think you should have your car worked on. Did you know that you have to turn the key-thingy to get the keys out? I don't think that's how it's supposed to work." Ayame swept around the car and stood next to Shigure. They looked like two children caught with hands in the cookie jar.

"Shigure, Akito wants to see you," Hatori said flatly. "And Ayame, if I ever catch you driving my car again, I'll cut every inch of that silver hair off your head." Ayame pouted and touched his sweeping tresses as if to comfort them.

---------------------

"What did you find out?"

Shigure knelt in front of Akito. His main purpose of going home _was_ to give Mii the pages, but Akito had asked him to find out how the three at the house were holding up. "I'm not sure it worked out like you wanted. I only stood there a few moments, but I think Tohru told them about your conversation. From what I gathered, they had all been pretty upset, but they were getting over it." He paused. "I think they've decided not to be affected by what you said to her." He flinched as Akito crushed the little bird in his hand. He rarely killed his tiny pets, but it was always when he felt defeated. Defeated was not a good emotion for the family head, and it always meant trouble.

"So they think they're smarter than me. All right. I'll indulge their little fantasy until they graduate, but after that…." Akito never finished his sentence, as he was overcome by nefarious laughter.

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A/N: Yea, more evil Akito. Okay, so Akito's not really evil, but he's pretty mean. Anyways, I hope this gets interest peaked a little more. I can't wait to get into my much more action-pact and intense plot line after all the set-up stuff! Keep reading and reviewing, please! I love getting reviews. It just makes my day. (I won't beg anymore.) 

Thank you to all the people who reviewed!!! You guys are totally awesome! I'm not going to answer them individually because I'm in a hurry right now, but here are a few answers to some random comments/questions:

1. I'm not telling who I like more here. You could figure it out if you really wanted to, like by looking at my list of favorite stories, but you don't have to look if you don't want to. I'm trying not to let biases show.

2. Definitely more Akito!

3. I will try to add as much Momiji as works with my story, as well as the other characters, because I love them all.

4. Yuki will NOT be cleaning anything in my story! ^_^

5. Please don't hunt me down with forks! I'll update regularly, I promise!

Next time on Divine Intervention (with cheesy soap opera music playing in the background): Hana and Uo! Kisa and Hiro! Haru and Momiji! Uh, at least one of those pairings, if not all. I'm so indecisive.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own Fruits Basket, but I'm asking for it for Christmas.

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Chapter 6:

"Why do we have to come here, anyway?"

"Because, Hiro-chan, I want to see if Oneechan's feeling better."

Hiro couldn't help but release his anger when he saw the lost look in Kisa'a eyes. They really could be the eyes of an orphaned tiger cub, needing protection from the perils of the world. Although he was a year younger than she was and just barely taller, he felt like a medieval knight guarding his fair princess. The arrogant Ram would never admit it, not even to himself, but he liked stories about swashbuckling heroes rescuing damsels in distress. None of his inner tenderness came out in his voice, though. "Whatever. You shouldn't worry so much about that stupid chick. She's the biggest klutz I've ever seen."

Kisa stopped in her tracks and pulled on Hiro's sleeve until he turned around to face her. "Please, Hiro-chan, be nice to her. I want to have fun today." Her vision clouded as her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away. All she wanted was for Hiro to be nice to Tohru, because she loved them both so dearly. In the time since they had met, Hiro hadn't warmed up to Tohru much at all. Kisa knew that Hiro was jealous of Tohru, but his reasons didn't make any sense to her.

Hiro sighed at himself for making her sad yet again. "Oi," he said almost in a whisper. "I'll have a good time if you do." These were Hiro's favorite moments in life, being alone with Kisa, no stupid girl around, no Sohmas, and no parents. He liked to pretend on these rare occasions that they were much older and that he was Kisa's prince. "How about we just stay for a little while, though. Our parents aren't expecting us until dinner. We could go get ice cream or something." 

Kisa smiled sweetly back at Hiro. She enjoyed spending time with him alone, also. Hiro wasn't going to the same middle school as she was, so they didn't see each other as much as they used to. They both had homework, and Hiro had to help his mom with the baby, and now that they were a little older, everyone seemed to be watching over their shoulders. Their once childish crushes had turned into puppy love, and every time they shared some innocent little affection, an unwanted observer would pop up and cause Hiro to lose his temper and Kisa to run away in embarrassment.

So, Hiro saw this as a perfect opportunity; they were almost to Shigure's house, but trees blocked it from view. Still clumsy in his execution from lack of practice, he quickly leaned in and brushed Kisa's warm lips with his own. The kiss lasted only a second, but of course they had been seen. Hiro grimaced when he heard someone clear his throat.

Yuki stood in the path several yards away from Hiro. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his amused smile. "Hello, Kisa. On your way to visit Honda-san?" He markedly ignored Hiro's murderous look and instead smiled sincerely at Kisa. He hated to intrude on their privacy, but they were positioned between himself and his secret base and apparently hadn't noticed him standing there with how wrapped up they were in each other.

Kisa blushed and looked at her shuffling feet. "Yes, Oniichan. We just came to see her for a little while."

"Don't you have anything better to do than spy on us?" demanded Hiro, fists on hips.

Yuki tried to respond with a straight face, but for some reason Hiro's challenging stance was comical. "I'm sorry, Hiro. I was just on my way to my garden when I ran into you." Well, he had managed not to laugh out loud at his feisty cousin.

Hiro was really starting to get annoyed at Yuki's sly smile. He knew how to piss off that Rat. "Oi! At least Kisa will actually kiss me. That's more than I can say for that ugly dimwit you like so much. Let's go!" Kisa turned to give Yuki an apologetic look as Hiro dragged her towards the house. Yuki felt like Kyou. He wanted to smack the living daylights out of that brat, but he decided that he'd ignore his desires and plant something instead.

---------------------------

"Kisa-san!" Tohru ran to give Kisa a massive hug. Laughing, she pulled Hiro in, also, placing him on the other side of Kisa so he wouldn't transform.

"Ugh! Get off of me!" Hiro escaped her grasp and crossed his arms. "Don't you have any snacks or tea to offer us? We're invited guests."

Tohru smiled at Hiro obliviously. "Yes, the table's all set. I made sure there was nothing with sugar."

Hiro grumbled and went with Kisa and Tohru to have lunch. The girls chatted about school while Hiro moped and threw in a few biting remarks here and there. Tohru loved being around the two of them, even if Hiro was obstinate. Tohru knew from what Kisa told her privately that he really could be sweet and charming, and that he truly cared for her. Their relationship was kept as secret from Akito as possible, but all of the Jyuunishi knew and approved now.

"Where are Yuki and Kyou and Shigure-ojiisan?" Kisa asked, finally realizing they hadn't been around all during lunch.

"Oh, Kyou-kun is at the dojo today training and Shigure-san went to visit Ayame-san's shop. I think Yuki-kun is around somewhere."

"Oneechan, since your arm is better, it's okay for you to be alone here, right?" Kisa wasn't sure how to tell Tohru that she wanted to spend time with Hiro by herself.

"Um, sure. Can't you stay long?"

Kisa blushed and Hiro frowned. "Well, Hiro-chan and I were going to go get some ice cream."

Tohru looked baffled for a second before she realized what Kisa was trying to say. Hiro rolled his eyes at how dense she was. "Okay, Kisa-san! This way I can catch up on the housework."

A short while later, Tohru was waving at them vigorously from the doorway. She really did need to work on the house today, since it was the last day before school started again. Kyou had done the cooking for the most part, and Tohru had tried to clean as much as she could, but the house was seriously in disarray. Yuki had tried to help by mopping the kitchen floor, but it had taken him three hours just to do that so he gave up on the rest of the house. Tohru was determined to have the house spotless and dinner on the table when they came home.

-------------------

"Yo, Orangetop! I hear you got pretty wasted on New Years. Can't handle your liquor, eh?" Arisa stood outside the school where she usually met Tohru and he two boys before class. Saki and Hatsuharu flanked her, both smiling at the new arrivals.

"How the hell did you…?" Kyou stopped mid-sentence when he saw a blonde head poke out from behind Uo's back. "Momiji! I'm gonna kill you!"

Momiji laughed loudly. "Sorry Kyou-Kyou." He certainly didn't sound very sorry. Kyou wrapped his arm around Momiji's neck and throttled him. "Wah! Kyou's hitting me!"

"Cut it out, Momiji," said Yuki briskly. "If you keep that up we'll all get in trouble." Momiji stopped his whining but continued to pout.

"But Yuki," began Haru, latching onto Yuki's arm, "You're Student Body President."

"Precisely," Yuki said, unhooking himself from Haru. "I don't need to get lectured for some stupid fight that I wasn't even involved in."

"We can fix that right now!" Kyou interjected after releasing his hold on Momiji. "C'mon girly-boy!"

Yuki ignored Kyou and walked past him towards the school entrance. "We're going to be late to class. Are you coming, Honda-san?" Tohru meekly followed him into the building. Yuki and Kyou had been quibbling non-stop ever since they came back from New Years. Any hope that they might get along after that talk the three of them had was dashed when she understood that now they were being especially vicious to prove to each other that they weren't friends. This day was starting off worse than most.

"Hey, Kyou! I'll take Yuki's place." Apparently Haru was itching for a fight, as well. "I think you'll be surprised at how much I've improved." Not waiting for Kyou's answer, Haru head-butted him in a very Cow-like manner.

"What kind of lame-ass move is that, huh? Can't you get some new tactics?" Kyou blocked Hatsuharu's next attempt and retaliated with a chopping swing to his sternum. This was starting to get good.

"Sohma Kyou, Sohma Hatsuharu. I think you both know the consequences of fighting on school grounds." The principal's reprimanding voice got their attention. Haru looked at the man blankly and Kyou scowled. This wasn't exactly a new thing for them. "You can spend lunch washing blackboards. It'll give you plenty of time to think about your actions." Uo snickered at their punishment, earning her a disapproving stare from the principal. "Uotani Arisa, I believe that you are almost late for class." He left them after giving Kyou one more admonishing glance. That young man had caused him no end of trouble in the past two and a half years.

-----------------------

"It's too bad Sohma Kyou had to miss the delicious lunch you made for him." Saki's voice was devoid of emotion as usual.

"I hope he doesn't get too hungry." Tohru stared up at the second story window where she could see Kyou furiously scrubbing a blackboard. "He gets angry when he misses meals." Yuki wasn't with them, either, but he at least he got to eat during his Student Council meeting.

Uo chortled around her rice ball. "That guy loses his temper over everything. I guess that's what he gets for breaking the rules."

"That seems an odd thing for you to say, Arisa. Didn't you skip math class earlier?" Hana gave Uo a flat, penetrating look.

"Yeah, so I did. And I saw you give those Prince Yuki Fan Club girls a scare with your denpa. My point is that he's gonna get suspended if he can't control himself." Arisa seemed to be preoccupied about Kyou's well-being.

Momiji put his book down and giggled. "Maybe Kyou's mad because he likes Tohru-mutti and he's too shy to tell her." Momiji had been silently reading _The Universe of Stew_ all during lunch, so this comment took them by surprise.

"You know, kid, for a shrimp you're pretty perceptive. I think that's exactly why he's being so moody." Uo chuckled and nudged the blushing Tohru playfully on the shoulder. "Hey, what's the matter, Tohru?" she asked in shock. Tohru was grabbing her shoulder in pain. "I didn't hit you _that_ hard."

"No, there was something wrong with Tohru-kun's arm before you hit her. At least, that's what her electrical signals are telling me." Hana moved to Tohru's side and put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Tohru? What happened to your shoulder?" Uo was at the girl's other side.

Tohru gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile at them. "Oh, no, don't worry. I just ran into a wall on New Years at the Honke and dislocated my shoulder. Clumsy me!" She knuckled herself on the forehead. "I'm fine now, I promise." Tohru hoped they would accept her clumsiness as an excuse. The incident with Akito had caused her to lie more than once now.

"You would have to run into a wall pretty hard to do that," Uo said skeptically.

"Are you sure that's what happened, Tohru-chan? My denpa tells me that there's more to that story." Hana wasn't accusing Tohru of anything, but rather was concerned for her. Tohru going alone with the Sohmas on New Years had made her a little wary for Tohru's safety. The cloud of hatred deep in all of the Sohmas's hearts was there as clearly as it had ever been.

Tohru was floundering for an explanation when Momiji chimed in and saved her. "I think Tohru's embarrassed because that happened the night she and Kyou got into the sake. She was stumbling around a little bit." Tohru would remember to thank the Rabbit later.

"Oh, ho ho! I get it now! Our little Tohru was drunk, too. I woulda killed to see that!" Uo rolled on the ground laughing as she pictured a belligerent Tohru tripping over things. She probably even apologized to the wall after she ran into it.

"Yes, that does explain why Tohru's vibes are so ashamed. Dear, sweet Tohru. We'll have to teach Kyon a lesson for letting this happen to you." Hana was giving Tohru a huge smile, which was as good as a belly laugh for her.

"Oh, Kyou wasn't there when that happened," said Momiji. "I think Kureno helped her."

Tohru looked at Uo, horrified at what Momiji unknowingly let slip. "Hai, Uo-chan? Isn't that funny? He has the same name as the man you like. What a coincidence…." Uo wasn't even paying attention to her.

Grabbing Momiji by the collar, she fiercely peered at him. "Who is this _Kureno_? How old is he? What does he look like?"

Momiji didn't understand what was happening at all, be he knew Arisa's disposition well enough. "Oh, he's my cousin. He's about 26, brown hair, doesn't get out much."

Arisa's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that after all this time, the person that haunted her dreams was one of the Sohma clan. "Figures! Where is this Honke of yours, twerp?"

"Um, Uo-chan, I don't think that's a good idea." Tohru plucked at Arisa's shirt. "You see, Kureno-san isn't really allowed to have visitors." Desperation oozed from her. How could she tell Arisa that Kureno was prisoner to Akito and that he didn't want to see her? This wasn't how she planned to tell Arisa about the Bird being her mystery man.

"Did you know this whole time, Tohru? Well, I don't know what that guy said about me, but I'm about to tell him what he can do with his pompous ass." She dropped Momiji to the ground and stalked off.

"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun. I think I better go with her. I assume her temper could make things most unpleasant at the Sohma residence." Hana hugged Tohru and glided off after Arisa's disappearing form.

"Tohru? What just happened?" Momiji clung to her hand and looked up at her with wide eyes.

"I don't think this is very good, Momiji-kun. I think Uo-chan's going to do something bad to Kureno-san." Tohru emphasized her fears by gulping noisily.

"Come on, Tohru. I think maybe we should call Hari." Momiji coaxed her towards the school office.

------------------------

A/N: So, hehehe, Uo finally gets to confront Kureno. And don't think Hana won't be running into Akito. I'm so devious! Sorry about the very little of Yuki and Kyou in this chapter. I'm not really sure where the next chapter is headed yet, so I'm not promising anything, but I will update within a few days. Keep up with those reviews. They're like crack for writers. Aah! I need more! T_T

Sweet, sweet reviewers (Runic Knight, Lady Kara, Zapenstap, crack baby x2, RaikO, bookitty, yingaling), here are some random comments again:

I love happily evil Shigure!

Akito IS a meany head.

Against my better judgment, Yuki cleaned something.

Wow, this is definitely NOT an Akiru fic. Frankly, the thought scares me.

Thanks for the chapter length comment! I tried really hard to make them not too long and not too short.

I'm glad you think I write IC. It's a huge compliment!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket isn't mine. A girl can dream, though.

Warning: There's a hint of lime in this chapter.

-------------------

Chapter 7:

Arisa stubbornly flipped through the phone book that was attached to the booth. She was determined to find a listing for "Sohma" that might be this infamous Honke. After reading the list of addresses for a third time, she frowned and dropped the book, leaving the phone booth to join Saki on the sidewalk.

"Any luck?" Hana continued her sweeping, nonchalant gaze at their surroundings. "I trust that you know where we are. My sense of direction leaves much to be desired."

"Yeah yeah, I know where we are." Years in a street gang had given Uo an intimate knowledge of the city. "I don't think any of the Sohmas in the phone book are the ones we're looking for. There aren't any huge houses in those parts of town."

"Let's think logically. When I ran into them on their way to the Honke two years ago, they weren't very far from Shigure's house. If you know how to get back there, I'm sure I can find the street they were on." 

Arisa looked at Hana in disbelief. "Geez, Hanajima, why didn't you say something before?" They had been wandering around for a half-hour at least now, with no luck. Uo's plan to go in the direction that Momiji and Hatsuharu's cousin drove them home from the school hadn't worked as expected.

Hana didn't appear to show any remorse at all. "You didn't ask. Besides, I thought you knew where you were going."

"What the hell am I gonna do with you? This way." Arisa led Hana in the direction of Shigure's house. They just had to find that damn Honke.

-------------------

"Excuse me, office lady?" Momiji could barely see over the top of the counter in the school office. 

A large, brutish looking woman waddled over to where Momiji and Tohru were standing. "What do you want? I don't have time for any childish antics, especially from boys in girl's uniforms." She leaned over the counter and peered at Momiji like a fat hen examining an insect. Momiji's smile didn't even falter under her scrutiny. That was definitely a first for her. She depended on that look to force all the little hooligans into behaving. 'Maybe I'm losing my touch,' she thought. 

"If you please, could we use the telephone? I need to call my cousin," he said with his most innocent expression.

"School phones aren't for calling your cousins. Wait until you get home." The office lady turned to leave, but Momiji continued.

"No, wait. He's my legal guardian. It says so in my records."

"Hmm. We'll see about that. Name?" Did these children really think she was such a fool?

"Sohma Momiji," the boy responded with a sweet smile. Usually, his bubbly smile melted even the coldest of hearts, but this lady wasn't falling for it. Instead, she waddled over to the filing cabinet and flipped through until she found the right folder. Finding out that the boy's cousin was indeed his legal guardian made her mood worse.

"Fine, you can call your cousin, but this girl doesn't need to be here," she added, squinting at Tohru, daring the girl to challenge her.

Momiji started to protest, but Tohru cut him off. "It's okay, Momiji-kun. I think it's almost time for class anyway."

"Okay, To-ru. I'll take care of this. Don't worry!" Momiji waved as Tohru left the office. The office lady dialed Hatori's number, just to make sure the kid didn't call someone else, and handed the receiver to Momiji. The boy realized that the woman was going to stand and listen to his phone call, so he had to think carefully before he spoke.

"Hello?" Hatori answered in his normal, serious tone.

"Hari!"

"Yes, Momiji?" Hatori said with agitation. 

"Um, I just wanted you to know that there are going to be visitors at the house."

"What are you talking about?" Hatori could only imagine what types of obnoxious people Momiji would want to bring home from school.

How was he going to tell Hatori without getting Uo and Hana in trouble for skipping? "Um, you know, Tohru's friends. I think they may come over later to visit Kureno. Maybe you should meet them when they show up."

Hatori heard a muffled "That's enough, young man. Don't waste my time with your mindless drivel" and then a dial tone. It must have been that charming woman who worked in the office. She had been a true nightmare when he was registering Momiji and Hatsuharu at the school. Why had Momiji called to tell him something so bizarre? How did Tohru's friends know Kureno, anyway? He sighed as he rose to go fix everything for everyone once again.

--------------------

"Finally we're headed in the right direction!" Arisa and Hana walked briskly down the street where Hana had convinced Kyou and Yuki to return to Tohru two years prior. "I thought we'd be out here looking forever." 

The two continued for a while longer, with buildings getting farther and farther apart until Arisa didn't think there could be anything else down the road. It was much farther away from the city than she would have expected. "Oi, Hana, I don't think we're going in the right direction anymore."

"No, I feel that the Sohma house is nearby." She gazed off through the trees as though she had X-ray vision.

"Uh, I didn't know your denpa could find houses." If Saki had been holding out on her again, she was really going to be pissed.

"It can't. There's a sign there that says 'Private property. No tresspassing.'" There was no hint of mockery in Saki's voice, but Uo felt angry all the same. Leave it to Hana to do something like that. Uo fell into a determined stride as she walked down the winding road and up to the gates of a large house. The damn thing was like the size of a village. Stupid rich Sohmas!

Before Hana could advise her against it, Uo pounded on the ornate doorway. Hana felt a foreboding about this place that told her they didn't appreciate uninvited guests. The door slowly opened to the face of Momiji and Hatsuharu's cousin, the one who drove them to school.

"So Momiji was right. I hear you have come to visit Kureno?" Hatori had seen the girls many times, but had never directly spoken to them. "I'm Sohma Hatori, Momiji's older cousin."

"Oh, yeah. You're that doctor guy, right?" Uo was a little surprised to meet him at the gates. "So is Kureno here? I really need to talk to him."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible. Kureno doesn't accept visitors. Maybe we could arrange a meeting some other time. Now, I'm on my way to pick up Momiji and Hatsuharu from school, and I insist that you let me drive you back there. I'm sorry you went to all this trouble." Hatori had already pulled his car up to the entrance so the girls wouldn't have to go into the heart of the Honke. Perhaps he should erase their memories, but that involved telling Akito. If Akito knew that Tohru's friends had found the Honke then likely all three of them would have their memories erased. No, better just to nip this in the bud before there was a problem.

The girls had no choice but to get in the car with Hatori. They couldn't exactly run around the Honke looking for Kureno

When they got back to school, Uo led Hana down the street towards her house for a few minutes until she saw Hatori's car drive off toward the Sohma residence again. "C'mon Hanajima," she said, turning to follow the car.

"Where are we going?" Hana assumed they were going to go back home. She was getting a bit hungry.

"We're going back to that damn house."

------------------------

Momo skipped on the hopscotch board she had made outside the Honke walls. She wasn't supposed to play out here, but inside was so boring. This way she could sneak over to her secret entrance and visit Momiji in a little while after he finished his homework, too. She always visited him on Mondays after he got home from school. Mama would be very angry if she found out, but Momo didn't care. Momiji was just like a big brother to her, even if Mama didn't like him. She turned on the space where the stone had landed and started hopping the other way. Suddenly, she noticed two girls approaching the Honke gate. "Hi! Who are you?" Momo had never been shy.

"Uh, hey munchkin. Do you live here?" The blonde girl looked kind of mad.

"Yep. Do you know people who live here?" Momo tried to look intimidating.

Saki considered what the safest answer would be. "We're classmates of Sohma Momiji and Sohma Hatsuharu."

The little girl could hardly contain herself. "You know Momiji-kun? Are you friends with Tohru-chan, too?"

'Bingo!' thought Arisa. "Yeah, we're good friends of hers. Look, we're trying to find Sohma Kureno. D'you know him?"

Momo shook her head rapidly, making all of her blonde hair fly about her face. "Nope. I'm going to visit Momiji-kun right now. Wanna come?"

"You mean you'll take us inside?" Uo smiled at the ease of getting in this time. 

"One time I took Tohru-chan inside. It's a secret path. Follow me!" Momo ran around the side of the wall without waiting. Arisa jogged after her and Saki walked regally behind them. Physical exertion was simply _not_ her thing.

"So I thought Tohru could come inside if she wanted." Arisa was trying to make conversation with the little girl.

"She was visiting someone secret. I took her to see Momiji and then she walked really far and talked to a man who lives way over there," she said, pointing into the distance. "Tohru doesn't know but I followed her and saw her talk to the secret man."

"'Secret man'? Who was he?" Uo got an image of some enigmatic lover and laughed. No way Tohru would do that!

"I dunno. He was tall and kind of mean-looking. I don't think he has any friends." Momo looked sad at the prospect of being lonely. Arisa had to admit that she was a cute kid. She thought about whom Tohru might visit that she wouldn't tell anyone about. Tall, mean looking, a loner…. Could that really be…?

"Hey, munchkin, do you think you could show me how to get to that house?" She had a good feeling about this.

"Okay, but then I have to hurry and see Momiji-kun."

---------------------

Uo finally stood on the doorstep of Kureno's house, or at least what she suspected was his house. She had imagined this moment many times, and always in her visions she was brave and firm and reprimanding, telling off that ass for ignoring her like that. Now that she was there, her anger turned to a nauseating nervousness that tormented her stomach. Those embarrassing dreams that she didn't want to admit that she had came to mind. Dreams where Kureno swept her off of her feet in passionate kisses were all remembered, making her flush. She was interrupted from her dizzy revelry when Hana reached out and knocked on the door for her. "What the hell, Hana?"

"I have a strange feeling about standing out here like this. I feel like someone's watching us." Saki's voice was uncharacteristically shaken. Uo's eyebrows drew together as she viewed the Honke behind them.

"I don't see anything but if-" Uo's words failed her as she heard the door open. She turned and locked eyes with a man she had only met twice, a man more handsome than she had remembered. Why did all the Sohmas have to be so freaking hot?

"A-Arisa?" 

Hanajima noticed that Kureno's original austerity at opening the door had faded to shy confusion when he laid eyes on Uo. He hadn't even noticed Saki standing there. "Might we go inside? It's a bit cold out here," she said. She couldn't help but feel frightened at the idea of being watched by whatever force it was she felt.

"Yes, um, come inside. I'm Sohma Kureno." The man walked into the house, letting them follow. 

"Hanajima Saki. I'm going to stay here. This cushion looks far too comfortable to pass up." Hana plopped herself down on a soft, black velvet cushion in the small living room area. The house was small, perhaps two or three rooms, but she wanted to allow Arisa as much privacy as possible. Hana picked up a book about predatory animals from the table and began reading intently. Well, at least the man had good taste in furniture and books.

"Hanajima?" Uo asked, but her friend was already absorbed in her reading. Uo was now left alone with Kureno. He silently led her to the porch at the back of his house and sat down. Uo sat beside him and began fidgeting with her skirt. This wasn't going as smoothly as she had planned.

"If I may ask, how is it that you came here today?" Kureno was trying his best to sound composed. The shock of finding Arisa at his house was still awing, though.

"It was a coincidence. I go to school with your cousins. Yuki and Kyou are in my grade and Momiji and Haru are a year younger. You know Honda Tohru?" Arisa waited for his nod. "Yeah, she's my best friend, so I guess it was just a matter of time before it all got figured out. Actually, I found out because Momiji said you helped Tohru when she got drunk and dislocated her shoulder running into a wall on New Years. Thanks for that."

Kureno stopped for a minute to ponder what she was talking about. He supposed that they used that excuse to explain what Akito-sama had done. "Yes, but did you come all this way to thank me?"

"N-No. What happened? Why didn't you ever come to see me again? You really pissed me off!" Uo's temper was getting back into full swing.

"It's not that I didn't want to. I've never interacted with people before, really. You might say I'm a recluse." Kureno hoped she would accept that excuse and leave him forever. This pain was too great.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything? You can't toy with someone's emotions like that. First you ask me out to eat, then you insult me, then you almost kiss me, then I never see you again. Is that how you act all the time?" Uo was raising her voice now. "And what's this I hear about not being allowed to have visitors? That's pretty weird!"

"I know. I don't live by my own decisions. I am indentured to another, and there's nothing I can do to stop that. Please, accept my apology for leading you to believe something else. It would be best if you forgot meeting me, and also how to get to the Honke. If I were seen with people around, I would be punished severely. You might be, also." Kureno tried to plead with his eyes. How could this young girl cause him so much pain? She was brash and rude, and beautiful and honest.

"If you're being held prisoner or something, isn't that against the law? What kinda wimp are you, anyway? I mean, you're 26 years old." Arisa was getting tired of this line of talk. "Look, I like you a lot. Would it be so bad if we went on a couple dates every once in a while? Whoever this person is has to give you nights off, right?"

"No, Arisa, it won't happen. You're only making this harder for me, and for you, as well. Maybe someday, but not now." Kureno moved his gaze from Arisa's dejected eyes to the mountains in the distance.

"I see how it is." Arisa didn't think that it would be a problem. "The age thing, it's too much for you. Hey, I'll be 18 in a few months and then I'm legal. You know, most guys your age would kill for a girl who's still in high school. Even that cousin of yours, Shigure."

Kureno looked back at Arisa with a sad expression. "No, that isn't it. I hope that someday I can come for you. Accept that if you care for me at all."

Arisa put her head in her hands to hide that fact that she was wiping away tears. 'Uotani Arisa does not cry!' she told herself. "Fine, I'll leave you alone. But since I came all the way here, will you give me one thing?" Uo thought that being forward would come easily to her, but she was having trouble getting the words out.

"Anything I can give you." Kureno meant that. This girl would never realize the importance that she had on his life, the hope she had given him, the brightness her smile granted his heart. Kureno found himself bewildered, though, when Arisa's face advanced towards his own. Only at the last instant did he manage to remember the curse and grab her arms so she couldn't embrace him. He found that his head moved on its own account, tilting slightly to join their lips together. Kureno read romantic stories as a boy, which usually depressed him because he knew he would never kiss a girl. This moment was a lifelong fantasy and it made him come alive for the first time.

Arisa felt like she was consumed in Kureno's kiss. She had kissed men before, but never had she felt it in her whole body, because it had never meant anything to her before. She didn't want this to end, ever. The reasons Kureno gave her for not being able to date her didn't make much sense, but she knew that this was probably the only time she would experience this moment, and she wasn't going to waste it on thought. Letting herself get swept away by the kiss, only her raw senses were registering in her brain. His tongue's naive exploration of her mouth was electrifying, sending chills up her spine and eliciting quiet moans. Arisa broke herself away from his mouth, panting. "Please, this is torture. I can't do this."

Kureno let his grip on Arisa's arms loosen as she stood to leave. He couldn't end this now. If he didn't ask, he would regret it for the rest of his life. "Arisa, I love you. Let me show you that I'm not false. Please."

Arisa nodded wordlessly. Did he know how those words had affected her? Without realizing what she was doing she found herself in Kureno's bedroom. They must have come in from the porch. Arisa reached for him to kiss him again, but again he held her arms to her sides. "What's wrong? Why won't you let me touch you?"

Kureno's mind worked frantically, thinking of a decent excuse. "It's a medical problem. I cannot be embraced. Please, you might forget, so let me hold your arms like this." Arisa nodded again and Kureno kissed her in a gentle fashion. He wanted this to be special, memorable.

"I love you, too. I'm not sure why, I mean I barely even know you, but I do." Arisa's words were breathless and pure, making Kureno's heart clench. Kissing her again, he thanked himself for reading those romance novels.

---------------------

Saki was getting bored with the books in Kureno's living room. They had been there quite a while, and it was getting late. Not that she minded, though. Saki was happy that Arisa could find somebody to share affections with, and by the occasional sound from the other room, she guessed they were doing a good job of it. Saki smiled slyly. Romance was so wickedly delightful. But her happiness was short-lived. Hearing a sound at the front door, Saki realized that the force she felt while they were outside was much stronger. The vibes were intoxicating.

"And who might you be?" A cold voice came from the doorway. Saki couldn't make out the form in the evening shadows, but the voice was enough to earn her undivided attention.

"I am Hanajima Saki. Who might _you_ be?" This was definitely the force that she had felt. The man stepped into the light, giving her the means to examine him. His electrical waves were mismatched to his appearance, as they seemed old and wise. The power of the vibes was equal to the light in his dark eyes, though. Saki was impressed by his stare. Here was a worthy adversary. This man was devilishly handsome, as well, resembling the Prince. Yes, Saki was very impressed.

"I am Sohma Akito. I've seen you somewhere before. Yes, at my cousins's entrance ceremony. Are you familiar with any of the Sohmas at your school?" Akito asked with a slick smile.

"Yes, I am acquainted with Sohmas Yuki, Kyou, Hatsuharu, and Momiji," Saki said, standing. Something warned her not to mention Tohru.

"I see. Yes, it's coming back now. You were sitting with Yuki and Kyou during the ceremony. I noticed your penetrating eyes. I could be hypnotized by them." Hana froze as Akito slid his hand up to her cheek. This man was strange, almost wonderfully peculiar. She felt herself drawn to him like a moth to a flame, like her denpa was in overdrive at his presence. "May I ask you a question?" He didn't even wait for her response. "It seems that you are blessed with some sort of foresight. Am I correct?"

Hana blinked and regained her composure. She never wavered like this. "Yes, I have a type of psychic ability, called denpa. I can sense the electrical signals that a person emits, allowing me to feel certain qualities or emotions from them."

Akito smiled again, but his eyes remained cold. "How fascinating. Maybe you can visit me sometime and demonstrate. But for now, I must leave. I fear it is quite late. Do you have a ride home?"

"Yes, I can get home by myself. There's no need to go out of your way." Hana made her eyes as cold as his were.

"Then until next time, Hanajima-san. Good night." Akito bowed to Saki and smoothly lifted her hand to his mouth, tenderly kissing it while his icy gaze never left hers. At that, he turned and walked out the door, leaving Hana to let out the breath she was holding. Yes, an equal match. 

Hana knocked on Kureno's bedroom door and was soon making her way with her friend back home. Uo was pensive for once in her life, not saying a word as she turned down her street towards her apartment. Hana continued to the train station. Sitting on the late-night train, staring at the subway tunnel flying by, Hana realized what it was that had been bugging her since her meeting with Akito. He hadn't mentioned Kureno once, even though she was found sitting alone in his living room.

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A/N: Well that was a longer chapter than I had anticipated. Um, yeah, so it was all Hana and Uo, but now that I have that out of the way I can go back to the real main characters of the story! Sorry about the lime. I didn't intend to put that in, but when I wrote it, it just kinda fit, seeing as it's their only time to be together and all. And I wanted Hana to have some time to meet Akito, also. I'm not opposed to having them interact more, but it's not integral to my plot, so if I get responses either way, I'll take them into consideration. I'll also try to update sooner.

Keep on reading and reviewing, my super awesome fans!

Thanks to: 

Shiroi Yuyen: I have to say you're not the first person I've gotten threats from to update. I'm not a machine! ^_^

yingaling: I'm not promising ultra frequent updates forever. Just until the end of September when school starts again. I like Kisa and Hiro, too. Expect little scenes like that from all of the Jyuunishi. I want them all in my story.

Zapenstap: Did you call me Jamers??? You know I hate that, Stew! Hehehe ^_~ I hope you liked my Saki and Akito action. (Is that like "smells like peanut action"?)

Lady Kara: No, I haven't heard "Woof" before from you. Does that mean you want more Shigure? Seriously, though, every review is priceless to me, even if you've already said everything important!

Sakura Avalon or Kinomoto: I'm happy you like my story so much. Now you have to continue yours soon!

bookitty: I always dreamed of supplying crack over the internet…uh, yeah, or good chapters I mean. Cool! My characters have life!

Merei-chan: Sorry, I guess you're probably frightened now. ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.

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Chapter 8:

Tohru walked in silence with Yuki and Kyou on the way to school. She had been worried since the day before about Uo and Hana leaving at lunch to visit Kureno. They had never come back to class and she hadn't heard a word from either of them about anything. Tohru wanted to run the rest of the way to school to see if they were there, but that would arouse Yuki and Kyou's suspicions, and she hadn't wanted to tell them about what had transpired. Neither knew about Arisa's encounters with Kureno or her discovery that he was a Sohma. Both the boys had just assumed that Arisa and Saki had skipped class again, a behavior that wasn't uncommon for the girls. Tohru had to take comfort in Momiji's assurance that everything had been taken care of.

"Is anything bothering you, Honda-san?" Yuki asked her with a concerned expression.

"Eh, Yuki-kun? I'm just thinking about finals. Yes, they're are going to be hard!" Tohru's voice faltered, as she wasn't very good at lying.

The Rat smiled at her warmly. "I'm sure we can find time to work on any subject you're having trouble with, Honda-san."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun. You are too kind to me," Tohru added, but her usual enthusiasm in apologizing wasn't there at all. The high school was just around the next corner and the thought of getting there was distracting her from any conversation.

Kyou smirked at Yuki's back. Tohru was totally ignoring the kuso nezumi, and he looked pretty upset about it. 'Way to go, Tohru!' he thought. He was surprised out of his gloating, though, when Tohru suddenly bolted for the front of the school, where Hana and Uo stood waiting for them. "What the hell got into her?" he mused out loud. He couldn't help but smile at the way Tohru's arms flailed about when she ran.

"She's probably trying to get away from you, baka neko!" Yuki knew that Kyou hadn't done anything to make Tohru run from him, at least not this morning, but he was sullen from her weirdness towards himself. In the distance, he could see Tohru hugging her friends and walking off into the schoolyard with them. He figured that she wanted to talk to them about something private and made his way to the classroom.

Kyou wanted to give Yuki a nasty retort, but his heart wasn't in it. He didn't like it when Tohru acted strange, because it usually meant something was wrong and she was pretending it wasn't. Besides, the kuso nezumi wasn't mad enough right now to fight at school. Grumbling about "the prissy boy," he followed Yuki to class.

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"Hana-chan, Uo-chan, I'm so happy to see you!" Tohru exclaimed, mauling her friends with massive hugs. "I was so worried!"

Uo laughed at Tohru and hugged her back tightly. "We're fine, Tohru. Everything went well." Uo didn't mean that completely, as she felt that she would never be with Kureno again, but there was no need to stress Tohru out more. Glancing at Hana, Uo saw that her eyebrows were raised questioningly, so Arisa silently shushed her with a look. Saki at least knew that the night before hadn't gone as planned.

"Yes, the night was not a total failure." Hana's thoughts weren't on Uo and Kureno but rather her own encounter with the captivating Akito.

Tohru smiled, relieved. "Onegai, tell me what happened. Did you talk to Kureno-san?" Tohru let herself be led away from the school entrance by Uo, who didn't want anyone to overhear.

"I found him and we talked," Arisa answered once they were a short way into the grass field. "We decided that the time wasn't right for us now. I got a good kiss in, though." Tohru was simply too innocent in Uo's eyes to know about her love making.

Tohru's eyes became dazzled and glazed over in her daydreaming. "Oh, Uo-chan, that's so romantic. What was it like? Are you sure you're okay?"

Uo just couldn't answer Tohru's question about Kureno. She felt like she might go crazy if she let herself think about the night in too many details…like the way Kureno whispered her name or how he caressed her bare skin or the inconceivable ecstasy she had felt…. No, the experience was just too fresh in her mind, both the joy of being with him and the anguish of having her heart ripped away. "I'm fine, Tohru, don't worry about it," she finally got out in a tight voice.

"Okay," laughed Tohru. "Hana-chan, did you have a good time, too?"

"Hmm. A good time?" Saki's eyes were fixed in concentration. "I suppose you could call it that. I was wondering, Tohru-kun, have you ever met a person at the Sohma house named Akito?"

Tohru felt poleaxed. Scattered thoughts swum in her mind, trying to become coherent. If Akito had spoken to her friends, or found out that they knew her, or if he thought they knew of the curse, or if he had done something to them and then had their memories erased…. The list of possibilities went on infinitely in her mind. Even indirectly and maybe unknowingly, Akito still had the ability to strike fear into the very core of her being. "W-Why?" she stammered.

"I see that you do know him. He has enchanting vibes, but there's something strange about them." Corners of her mouth turned up in a mysterious smile, Saki looked upwards thoughtfully. "He invited me to visit with him again, an offer I'm afraid I can't refuse."

Those words were even more frightful to Tohru than she could fathom. She clasped her hands together pleadingly. "Hana, no, please, you shouldn't do that. Please, promise me you'll stay away from him," she said, almost sobbing.

"I will stay away as long as I don't suspect any wrongdoing towards you, Tohru-kun." Tohru's words had served only to interest Hana further. 

"Thank you, Hana-chan!" Tohru sighed, relieved. She wouldn't give Hana any reason to worry because she wasn't planning on having any more interaction with Akito for as long as possible. "We better go or we'll be late." Grabbing a hand of each of her friends, Tohru walked with them to class.

Saki moved wordlessly towards the school building. Akito obviously scared her friend, of which she wasn't surprised, considering his demeanor, but nothing would keep her from making sure he didn't do anything to hurt her precious Tohru. A task to be completed on her own, when the time was right. In addition, Akito's deep seeded hatred made the other Sohmas's trivial in comparison. So much spite was intertwined in his electrical signal that he seemed inhuman. Yes, inhuman described it perfectly.

--------------------

"You're in a much better mood than you were this morning," Kyou stated, looking at Tohru askance. They were walking with Yuki back to Shigure's house after school. 

Tohru smiled at Kyou warmly. "Mmm hmm. I was very happy to see my friends today!"

"It's not like you don't see them everyday, anyway. Geez, the way you hung out with them all day a person would think you hadn't seen them in a year," Kyou snorted. Tohru had been oblivious to his existence during school, just sitting there, laughing with her friends, ignoring everyone else. Not that he was jealous or anything. Why would he be jealous? 'Aw hell, it just pisses me off!!!' he screamed in his mind. His face was bright red with bottled up anger.

"Um, Kyou-kun? Are you feeling okay? You look like you have a fever," Tohru reached up to feel his forehead, but Kyou pulled away.

"I'm fine, just leave me alone!" Kyou yelled back. He instantly regretted directing his anger towards her when he saw the hurt look in her eyes. He wasn't about to apologize with the kuso nezumi around, though.

"Don't talk to Honda-san that way, you stupid Cat." Yuki gave Kyou a thoroughly disgusted glare. They stood there for a few seconds, staring each other down, until Yuki turned to Tohru with a concerned expression. "Honda-san, you shouldn't take offense to him. His temper isn't disciplined enough for him to be around normal people."

"That's it! This time I'm really going to murder you, Ratboy!" Throwing his arms up in a martial arts pose, Kyou glowed with the challenge. "Or are you too much of a sissy to fight me?"

Angry and amused, Yuki mirrored Kyou's stance. "That's funny, baka neko. It seems to me that every time we fight you're the one who ends up on the ground." At that they began to land punches, or at least Yuki did, while continually taunting each other. Tohru made out shouts of "girly boy" and "idiot" among the thuds of kicks and blows. Finally, Kyou lay on the ground, out of breath, and Yuki stood over him. Kyou had taken most of the damage, but Yuki did have a bloody nose. "Looks like you're beginning to learn how to fight," Yuki said.

The rest of the way home was silent. Yuki had really hurt the Cat this time, as he was limping a little. 'Probably that well-placed kick to his hamstring,' Yuki thought. 'He should keep his defenses up better.' Tohru looked out of her mind with worry, but since she felt guilty for the fight starting in the first place, she didn't speak to either of them. Yuki could almost feel the panic emanating from her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Kyou asked, breaking the silence. He was scowling at Shigure's porch, where he saw a tall, longhaired figure compulsively searching the area around the house and glancing at his watch repeatedly. 

Yuki also scowled at the sight of the man, another person to put a damper on his mood. Tohru, conversely, giddily ran to the man, happily shouting, "Ri-chan-san! I was hoping you would visit soon!"

Tohru's voice made Ritsu start, and he frenziedly jumped to his feet and bowed over and over. "Honda-san, I hope I wasn't interrupting anything! I should have called to check and see if it was all right to visit today! Please forgive me!"

Laughing, Tohru bowed back to the Monkey. "No, I'm excited that you came to visit, and so soon after New Years!"

"It's too soon! I knew I should have waited longer! I'm so rude! I should grovel at your feet for forgiveness! I'm such a worthless person!" he wailed.

Tohru had let Ritsu get carried away, and now he was completely frantic. "Please, Ri-chan-san, I'm very happy to see you. Come inside. It's too cold out here." Tohru unlocked the door and let everyone in. "I hope you didn't sit out here too long! Shigure-san must be out."

"Only about an hour. I hope Shigure-san won't be mad at me for loitering outside his house!" Ritsu had calmed down a bit since the first time Tohru had met him, but was still the same panicky person.

Once inside, Yuki and Kyou escaped upstairs, using the excuse of homework. Neither one of them wanted to deal with Ritsu's exhausting personality, and in truth they were tired from the fight. Tohru and Ritsu sat down and talked over a hot cup of tea. Ritsu wouldn't admit it, but Tohru could see that he was shivering from sitting out in the frigid air.

"How is your shoulder, Honda-san?" asked Ritsu once his teeth had stopped chattering.

Tohru smiled. "Oh, it's fine now. Everyone was fussing over me so much, but it wasn't ever that bad."

"I'm very happy to hear that. Did you have a nice time at school?" Ritsu was much tamer now that he was sitting alone with Tohru, not inadvertently causing any ruckuses.

"Yes, school is going great! I'm grateful to see my friends again. How about you? Have you been well since New Years?"

Ritsu blushed slightly and looked at the cup of tea in his hand, his smile turning sheepish and blissful. "Actually, I've been spoiled. A useless person like me doesn't deserve to be this happy, but I can't help but feel a bit selfish."

Tohru was confused. "What do you mean, Ri-chan-san?"

"I think I met a girl that likes me." Ritsu, with this information in the open, began talking in his rapid-fire way. "She's perfect! I met her at a shopping mall last week. We both grabbed the same blouse at the same time, so I apologized to her and told her that she could have it, but then she did the same until we the shop owner kicked us out for disturbing the other patrons, so I asked her if I could buy her lunch to make up for my pathetic existence. One thing led to another and we exchanged phone numbers and have been talking every night. Honda-san, I think I might be in love," he concluded.

About to burst out of her skin with excitement, Tohru set down her cup and clapped her hands. "That's wonderful! What is she like?"

"She's very smart and funny. I don't know why she would like somebody like me, but we do have some things in common! Her parents ran a restaurant, just like my parents in the hot springs, and we both love books. In fact, she's an editor for famous authors!"

The Monkey was much different than he had been last time Tohru saw him, actually. He seemed to be able to accept some happiness for himself, whereas before he would have denied himself all of the joys of life. His self-confidence was far below that of others, but better nonetheless. "You deserve to find a person to share your happiness with," she told him truthfully. "What's her name?"

"Mit-san."

Tohru's eyes were popping right out of her head. "Mit-san?!? What a coincidence! That's Shigure-san's editor!" Shigure was going to die laughing if he ever found out.

And that he had. When he came home not ten seconds later, he walked into the dining room only to be faced with Tohru and his cousin. Tohru's expression was frozen in dumbfounded surprise; Ritsu had laid his head on the table in shame, long hair spilling around him. Shigure immediately collapsed on the floor in hysterics. "Ri-chan! I didn't know you were here!" He let himself laugh for another minute or so. "I just came back from a meeting with Mit-chan and I heard you two were an item!" That last was hardly discernible as he convulsed with laughter once again.

"Please, Shigure-san! Say that you'll forgive me! I had no idea that Mit-san was your editor! I will burn in hell for eternity for ever speaking to her!" Now Ritsu was sobbing uncontrollably into the tabletop.

His reaction only made Shigure more amused. "'Burn in hell'? It sounds like she is rubbing off on you already! Honestly, though, Ri-chan, I'm very happy for you, and myself. Mit-chan was so relaxed today that I almost didn't know her!" He covered his mouth with his hand to muffle the still-escaping sniggering.

Ritsu sniffled and looked at his cousin. "Then you're not mad at me?"

"Mad at you? Nonsense! This is the best thing that could have happened to me! Mii was so enraptured with telling me about her 'new boyfriend' that she forgot to ask me for more pages. Life is so good!" Shigure emphasized his delight with a triumphant dance around the room.

Ritsu stayed for dinner and visited briefly with Kyou and Yuki. Neither one of them was very talkative, but they both reacted with a shocked "What!?!" when he told them he was seeing Mii. Tohru had to work after dinner, so Ritsu escorted her there on his way home. He felt much better at Tohru's kind words and support for him. He decided that he would call Mit-san when he got home and tell her about what had happened.

------------------

"Goodnight, Tohru-kun!"

"Have a safe trip home!"

"You, too!" Tohru called to her older co-workers as she left the office building. "Yuki-kun! I didn't expect you to pick me up!" she said as she saw the poised boy standing outside.

"You were working later than usual, Honda-san, and I worry about you walking home alone." Yuki smiled at Tohru and handed her the orange scarf and hat that she had left at home. "Here, I brought these for you."

Tohru flushed with embarrassment. "Oops. I guess I forgot to take them with me. Thank you!" She wrapped the scarf around her neck several times and pulled the hat onto her head.

Yuki sighed inwardly at the cute way her hat sat lopsidedly and the way her wispy hair was entangled in the scarf. She looked so vulnerable like that. "There's another reason I wanted to pick you up, Honda-san," Yuki began timidly as they strolled down the street. "There's something that I almost told you once, at the beachhouse, that I would like to finish explaining." 

This day was a long time in the making. He had been putting it off longer and longer, not knowing exactly how to start the conversation. All afternoon Yuki had sat in his room, brooding over his feelings for Tohru. He knew that she was precious to him, though the thought of someone being able to take away the sting of the curse seemed impossible. Tohru had that ability, the ability to brighten his day and soften his mood, to make everything cheery. He just had to get it over with, or he thought he might burst from holding it in. "Honda-san, do you remember when you were young, when you were lost?"

Tohru met Yuki's gaze questioningly. "Yes, Yuki-kun, and the boy with the red cap helped me find my way home. But how do you know about it?"

The ball was already rolling, and there was no going back. Yuki sucked in a deep breath. "Honda-san, that boy was me."

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A/N: Haha. I'm so mean. I'm just going to leave it like that until I have time to write a new chapter. Please read and review! The more I get the faster I'll write! How's that for incentive?

Thanks to the people who have been reviewing. You're much loved!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to a really rich lady who is not I!

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Chapter 9:

Tohru was speechless. How could Yuki be the boy who had helped her so many years ago? The mystery had long dwelled in a corner of her mind, always on the edge of her consciousness, although she didn't directly think about the incident often. Such a brief meeting as a child had impacted her whole life, had haunted her dreams. The red cap that he had given her was a trivial thing, something anybody else would have discarded without a thought. But Tohru could never make herself let go of the tattered old hat. It was almost as if she felt that throwing the hat away meant she gave up hope of solving the great mystery of her life, the love she felt that she had lost. For the boy in the red cap, as she had told Arisa and Saki some time before, was her first love, and the dream of meeting him again had never faded. The sudden realization that Yuki was the boy she had yearned to find caught her completely off-guard.

"Honda-san? Are you all right?" Yuki asked sympathetically.

Tohru realized that she had been gaping like a fish, stopped mid-stride. "But how…?" Her voice was weak and she couldn't think of how to finish a sentence.

Yuki rounded to stand face to face with her. "Do you remember the first time you took me to your mother's grave, on the anniversary of her death?" Tohru nodded and so he continued. "That day, after we returned to the house, you had left your window open and it had blown some of your belongings about the room. The hat was among them. Seeing that hat brought a rush of memories back to me that I hadn't thought about in years."

Tohru felt a little better now after knowing that Yuki hadn't been aware of the previous meeting the whole time she had lived there. It would have been too embarrassing to think about if he had. "Yuki-kun, why didn't you tell me before?" she inquired in a whisper.

"I don't know. I suppose I am too weak of a person. Memories of my childhood, especially from that particular time, were and are painful. Too painful for me to accept when I found the hat. Please understand, Honda-san. That was the time when Akito locked me in the room. I wasn't allowed to go out."

Tohru didn't follow. "Then how did you take me home?"

Sighing, Yuki looked intently into Tohru's eyes. "I have to finish opening the lid now," he said determinedly, almost to himself. "I escaped that day. You see, Honda-san, the only person who would visit me in that room was Haru. He alone risked Akito's temper to express kindness to me. I am in debt to him for that. Once in a while he would let me go out, dressed in his clothes, while he stayed in the room in my place. If Akito had ever found out…but Haru was fearless even then, and he always took my fear away, as well. That day- that day I went into the city. I was planning to leave forever, to run away, but then I saw you. I saw how frightened and alone you were and I felt sorry for you, so I took you home. When you got to your house and looked so happy, and your mother was so relieved, I couldn't help but feel sad. And the friendship that you showed me reminded me of Haru, trapped in the room where I was supposed to be. I couldn't just run away and let him take the blame. So, after I gave you the hat and left you, I ran back to the Honke, to the room, and let Haru out. Akito came as soon as Haru left. If I hadn't found you, if I hadn't thought of Haru in my place, there's no telling what Akito would have done to him," Yuki finished, flushed.

After staring at Yuki's hurt face as he had exposed his secret, Tohru couldn't help but cry. Yuki-kun always seemed so cold and distant, but that was only to hide his inner grief. The little boy who had been locked inside of a room by Akito was now locked inside of Yuki's mind, tormenting him with terrible memories. "Oh, Yuki-kun, I'm so sorry!" she wailed.

"No, Honda-san, I'm sorry. I've been keeping this from you when I should have been thanking you. You were my first friend outside the Sohma household." He wiped away the tears that had cascaded down her cheeks.

Tohru sniffled and smiled, halting the barrage of tears. "I'm so happy that I found you Yuki-kun."

"I'm the one that should be saying that, Honda-san," Yuki answered sincerely. He proffered his hand towards Tohru. "We should probably be on our way home before Shigure and that baka neko send out a search party."

Tohru giggled and took Yuki's hand in hers. Her smile never left her face on the walk home. There was a warm and comforting feeling in her heart that hadn't been there before, like a piece of the puzzle had come into place.

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Kyou looked at Tohru sourly from across the classroom. She had been giving Yuki those shy glances again, just like she had been for three days. It was enough to make him sick. Ever since Ratboy picked her up from work that night she had spent all of her time fawning over him and laughing at his sad excuses for jokes. What was so special about the kuso nezumi, anyway? She had always been nice to that prissy Rat, but this was way different. Every time they caught each others' eyes Yuki would smile and she would blush and look away. Sitting in class like this, watching it happen, was enraging him. 'Why the hell should I care if she blushes at _him_?' he questioned himself. 'Because you wish that you were the one making her blush,' a small voice in his head answered. That thought only made him angrier. The lunch bell rang, causing everyone but Kyou to rise. He watched as Tohru took Yuki's arm and walked out of the classroom. 'She didn't even remember that I was here!'

"Jealous?" a mirthful voice asked him. It was Uotani Arisa with her normal crooked smile.

Great. Just what he needed. "Shut up, Yankee!"

"Hey, Hanajima, I guess we weren't the only ones to notice Tohru's little staring contest with the Prince," Uo said sarcastically to her friend, while keeping her gaze on Kyou.

"Yes, the orange-haired boy's electrical signals clearly give him away," Hana said in a most unperturbed tone.

Arisa flashed her wicked grin at Kyou and spoke to him as though he was a child with a skinned knee. "Aaww, poor Kyon! Is Tohru's little crush hurting your feelings?" she said, reaching out to teasingly pinch his cheek.

Kyou bounded out of his chair and backed away from the two girls. "Get off of me, Uotani! Why would my feelings be hurt? She can have the damn Prince for all I care! And it's pretty sad if you don't know my name by know, Denpa!" Slinging his backpack across his shoulder, Kyou exited the room and headed to the roof. Stupid girls.

On the roof, Kyou laid his head on his bag and wallowed in his misery. His mind was arguing with itself again. Part of him was trying not to care about Tohru and the Rat. She was just his friend, anyway, right? Why did it matter if she got herself a boyfriend? He had told her himself that he would be there for her when she finally got a boyfriend, but he hadn't meant the kuso nezumi! Tohru could do way better than that! 

'Like what? Like you, for instance?' the other part of his conscience asked. He sighed. He knew that was exactly what he wished. He knew he couldn't burden Tohru with his feelings, because of who he was and what his future was, and the kuso nezumi shouldn't either. Tohru was going to be crushed when he went back to live in the Honke. When they both did. He knew that they were her family now. What Akito had said to her was cruel. He wished that Akito hadn't told her that he was to be locked away. Kyou had wanted to tell her that himself. It was his responsibility. It didn't matter anymore, because what was done was done. He just didn't want to think about the nezumi with his Tohru. And that, he admitted to himself, was pure jealousy.

----------------

"Where's Kyou?" Momiji asked as he saw Tohru's friends walk up to join their lunch group.

"I don't believe he'll be eating with us today," Hana answered.

Tohru came over to her friend's side worriedly. "What happened, Hana-chan? Is Kyou-kun okay?"

Uo put her arm around Tohru's shoulder and laughed. "I think he's fine. He just had some studying to do. Don't worry about it, Tohru." Tohru nodded uneasily and sat back down in her spot next to Yuki. Kyou's absence disturbed her a little, but at least he was taking his schoolwork seriously.

"So Haru, Momiji, have you heard the rumors?" Uo asked the Sohma boys.

"Rumors?" asked Momiji. He had never been very good at keeping up on gossip. People didn't like to tell him secrets for some reason.

"Uh, no. Should I have?" Haru inquired. He didn't put much stock in rumors.

"Yeah, words out that that Minami chick in our class, you know from the Prince's fan club? Her little sister's a freshman and she started a 'Prince Hatsuharu and Prince Momiji Fan Club' to compete with her sister." Uo couldn't help her laughter. Those girls never learned their lessons.

"Yes," Hana added, "I heard that Minami and her sister, Makiko, don't get along well. When Makiko wanted to join Yuki's fan club, Minami wouldn't have it, so she started her own to spite her."

"Now I know why there were a bunch of freshman taking pictures of me yesterday," Haru said. He was going to get really irritated if his following was anything like Yuki's.

"Really? A fan club? That's so exciting!" Momiji danced around on the lawn, clapping his hands.

Yuki shook his head. "You'll have to be alert all the time. Especially you, Momiji." He gave his cousins meaningful looks because he couldn't say what he was concerned about out loud. Fan club girls had kept him on his toes for his whole high school career, as they often thought it would be a good idea to embrace him unexpectedly. Transforming was a constant threat, and Momiji was lax enough about that.

Tohru was wide-eyed. 'Another Sohma fan club,' she thought. 'All of the Sohmas are very handsome, but it's so amazing to have an actual fan following.' "I think having a fan club would be a great honor," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, maybe you guys can get some dates," Uo laughed.

"A date, a date! How fun!" Momiji giggled, continuing his dance.

Uo looked at Hatsuharu's serious expression. "What about you, Haru? Not interested in girls?"

Hatsuharu smirked at the thought of dating one of the immature girls at the school. "I've got better things to do with my time." His remark wasn't biting, just true. "Speaking of which, Honda-san, are you busy on Sunday?"

"Eh?" Tohru met Haru's piercing stare. "Oh, I guess I was just planning on studying and cleaning."

"Well, not anymore you're not. I'm sure Yuki can find another time to tutor you, and those slobs have got you cleaning way too much." Haru grinned at Tohru.

Putting up her hands, Tohru blushed and shook her head. "No, it's not a problem. I don't mind cleaning at all. Shigure-san has been too nice to me to let me live in his house and eat his food and-"

"Don't get all bent out of shape over him, Honda-san," Yuki cut in. "You're the one who's doing him a favor. And I can help you study any time. What did you have in mind, Haru?"

"Oh, nothing special. Rin and Kagura-nee have been nagging me all week about when we can visit you. I already told them that we'd be there on Sunday."

"You could have at least asked first, Haru," Yuki said with a glare.

"What's the fun in that? Besides, I knew if I already told them to come over that Tohru wouldn't back out of it. Am I right, Honda-san?" Haru grinned at her again.

"Ah, um, well, I couldn't say no now. Of course I'd love to have Isuzu-san and Kagura-san over!" Tohru was excited to see her friends.

"See?" Haru asked Yuki. "I told you." With those words the school bell rang. "I guess it's time to head back to scholastic hell," Haru said in annoyance.

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"Honda-san, don't look so upset. I'm sure that baka neko can take care of himself." 

Tohru was overcome with concern for Kyou. He hadn't wanted to walk home from school with them, and when she had asked him if anything was wrong, he told her to mind her own business and ran off. She didn't know what she had done to make him cross, but she couldn't find him after that to apologize. She had been wandering around the schoolyard looking for him when Yuki found her and insisted they go home. "Yuki-kun, I must have really made him angry. I don't like making people angry."

"You didn't do anything to him, Honda-san. He's just like that by nature. I'm sure he'll come home when he's hungry."

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Kyou marched into Shigure's house at around dinnertime. He knew that he was acting childish and making Tohru worry, but he couldn't bear to walk home another day watching Yuki flirt with Tohru. It was revolting. Training at the dojo all afternoon had helped him refocus his temper, but the feeling was still there. He was hoping to escape quietly to his room, but Tohru poked her head out of the kitchen at the sound of the door.

"Kyou-kun? Can I talk to you?" She wiped her hands on the towel she was carrying and came over to him.

The way that she was looking at him with that sad pout was irritating the crap out of him. "What is it?"

"Kyou-kun, I'm very sorry if I made you angry. I didn't mean to do anything to you."

He tried to stay angry with her, he really did, but to no avail. "Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't angry with you and I shouldn't have yelled at you. There. Now will you stop giving me that face?" His tone was exasperated.

Tohru smiled at him timidly and said, "Okay, Kyou-kun. You're just in time for dinner! I made salmon!"

Kyou returned her smile roughly. "Thanks," he mumbled, and went to the table. Dinner wasn't any more pleasant, though. Yuki sat next to Tohru and talked to her about calculus the whole time. The way she gazed at him as though he was some goddamn math wizard was so aggravating he wanted to die. Well, he wasn't going to be angry with her anymore. It's not like she had a chance when that girly Prince decided to charm her. This was all his fault, and he intended to show that Rat who was boss. Just a few more months before graduation. Just a few more months of training to beat that Yuki once and for all.

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A/N: Thanks for reading thus far! I appreciate all readers, and reviewers even more! So, there was a lot of Yukiruness this time. Poor Kyou-kun! Hehehe. You'll just have to keep reading to see what happens. Wasn't I nice this time, too? No mean and nasty cliffhangers. I won't torture my readers…too much. Next chapter we'll see some Rin, Kagura, and sexy Haru. Oh, and I'm going to be writing another fic on the side, also. Nothing even remotely as involved as this one, but it should be fun. Go and check it out (when it finally gets posted). I promise I won't slack on this one to write the other one.

Reviewers (comments include responses to last chapter's reviews, too, because I was lazy):

Zapenstap: Yes, I can see your face looking like O_O. You make that face a lot. ^_^ Yeah, I guess it wasn't a true lime, but I figure better safe than sorry. Arisa and Kureno will of course be worked out more eventually. I can't solve all the problems in the beginning, can I? Yuki can have a bloody nose and still be Princely. I can picture it!

Lady Kara: Thanks! I think my writing is getting better, too. I was super rusty before. I'm not sure about how I feel concerning Akito and Hana myself. I can see her kicking his ass, but I can also see him liking her. I guess it could work both ways, lol. I just haven't decided yet.

Merei-chan: You just might see Akito and Hana face off. See above comment.

C.B.: I couldn't help myself with Ritsu and Mit-chan. Even pathetic monkeys should get some lovin'!

kireina: Sorry to make you so upset! I hope you're not angry with me anymore. No more cliffhanger!

Stephanie: Oh, there'll be more romance and kawaii-ness, believe me! Angsty? I suppose, but it helps make the plot juicy.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket will be mine some day! Muahahaha! (Unfortunately it's not right now so I still have to write these depressing disclaimers T_T)

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Chapter 10:

"Tohru-kun!" Shigure chirped, head poking around the doorway into the kitchen. "You have visitors!"

"Eh? Oh, right!" She hadn't expected Rin, Kagura, and Hatsuharu to arrive so soon. Hurriedly, she flew about the room to finish pouring the tea and setting it on the serving tray with the onigiri. "Lunch is ready!" she exclaimed, bringing the tray into the dining room to greet her guests. "Good afternoon!"

"Tohru-kun!" yelled Kagura, taking the platter from Tohru only to hand it to Haru and throw her arms around her friend.

"Hello, Kagura-san! How are you?" Tohru asked, laughing as she returned Kagura's embrace. "Hello, Isuzu-san," she added when the girl joined their hug with a strained smile. Rin still had a bit of a problem being affectionate in front of others.

"Me, too." Haru smirked and moved to hug them all. "Who can resist hugging three cute girls at the same time?"

"Ugh. Haru-chan, you're such a lecher!" Kagura emphasized her words by pushing Hatsuharu hard enough that he fell on the floor.

"Kagura," he said blandly, "do you really have to do that all the time?"

"What are you talking about?" she laughed.

Rin looked at Haru and shook her head warningly. She could see where this conversation was leading: Kagura getting out of hand and Haru turning Black. That was never a good combination.

Haru assented to his girlfriend and got up off the floor. "Nevermind," he answered. "So, where are Yuki and Kyou?" he addressed Tohru.

She opened her mouth to answer, but Kyou entered the room and spoke for her. "Why? Are you looking for a fight?" Kyou would have enjoyed that after the week he'd been having.

"Not now, Kyou. I was wondering because lunch is ready." Haru sat down at the table and looked challengingly at Kyou. "Are you planning on joining us?"

Growling, Kyou sat in his usual spot and started twirling his chopsticks around. He had no desire to hang around with them all day. Kagura and Rin were bad enough, but watching Yuki and Tohru flirt during meals was awful, and Haru was likely to turn into a Black bastard and really start irritating him.

"Honda-san, did you say that lunch was ready? Oh, Kagura, Rin, I didn't know that you had gotten here already." 

Kyou jerked at Yuki's voice. The damn Rat was always so damn polite it made him want to break something. 'Honda-san, did you blah blah blah blah blah,' he mocked in his head, eyeing the Rat with scorn. Quickly, he stuffed his mouth full of onigiri and washed it down with tea. "I'm done!" he shouted, storming out of the house towards the roof. Watching them all was too much for him today.

"What's wrong with him?" Rin asked thoughtfully.

"He's the baka neko. That's just the way he his," Yuki answered with repugnance in his tone. "Honda-san, don't look so upset. He doesn't deserve for you to worry about him."

Tohru sat down next to Yuki, but didn't say anything. She knew in her heart that Kyou was angry with her for something, but she had no idea what. Every time she tried to talk to him that week, he had given her a different excuse to leave. It was like when she first moved to the house. She knew that he hated her, and she had no idea why.

"Tohru-kun?" Kagura asked quietly, placing her hand on Tohru's arm. "Don't worry. I'll talk to him," she assured, and left the house to follow Kyou to the roof. 

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"Kyou-kun? Will you talk to me?" she urged his hunched over form as she surmounted the ladder.

"No! Leave me alone, Kagura. This doesn't have anything to do with you," he said harshly.

Moving closer to him, she inquired, "Does it have anything to do with Tohru-kun?"

"No. Why would it? And don't sit down!"

"Kyou, you can be a real grouch sometimes!" Kagura lectured, hands on hips. "If it's not Tohru, is it Yun-chan? You really need to get over that."

"Of course it's the kuso nezumi," he lied. Well, it was half true. "I _can't_ get over it! My future rests in his hands. Do you know how it feels to have your worst enemy in charge of your life?"

"No, and neither do you. Yuki isn't responsible for your future. You are! You just have to learn to control your temper if you want to beat him and avoid being locked up," she continued.

"Shut up! You can go away now, because I'm done talking to you, Kagura! I'm sick of your sympathy!" he shouted, standing to look her in the face.

Kagura's eyes gleamed with her infamous rage. "Fine! Why do I even bother helping a pathetic outcast like you?" she screamed and ran from the roof.

Kyou resumed his seat when she left. He was pushing everyone away and he couldn't help it. Knowing didn't make it any easier.

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"What was all the yelling about?" Shigure asked once Kyou had left the room. He was holding his manuscript in one hand and his reading glasses in the other.

"Kyou," Haru said simply.

"Ah! Okay, you kids have fun. If you need me I'll be slaving away on my latest novel for that tyrant Mii. My work is never done," he whined as he walked back to his office.

"Is he always that dramatic?" Rin questioned of no one in particular. She was staring as if in a trance after Shigure. He knew the key, the key to breaking the curse, but he was adept at acting the fool. Rin knew better, though. She knew that he acted that way to get into Akito's favor. Many times she had tried to coax information out of him, but he shut up like a clam the more she pried. She would have to bide her time and work on her own until the right opportunity arose. Rin could be very patient if it meant breaking the curse. Without turning her head she risked a glance at Haru. It was all for him, and he had no idea that she was up to anything.

"Yes," Yuki said in an annoyed voice. "If it wasn't for Honda-san, I think that I would go crazy living here." Yuki looked down on Tohru warmly, instantly drawing pinkness out on her cheeks.

Rin smiled sadly at Yuki and Tohru. It was painful for her to witness them being so happy together, since she knew their love was as doomed as hers until the curse was broken, if not more so. Haru squeezed her hand three times under the table, signifying "I love you." He always seemed to know what she was thinking. She returned the gestured, pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind and trying her best to be happy in the moment.

"That boy is out of control!" Kagura punctuated her statement by slamming the door home on its runners. "There is no getting through to him when he's in a temper like that!"

Haru smirked at Kagura coldly. "That's a bit hypocritical, isn't it?"

"How is that hypocritical? I'm not unreasonable like he is, and I don't take my anger out on other people." Kagura bit off each word.

"Mmm," Yuki answered ponderously. "I have some studying to do. I'll be in my room if you need me, Honda-san. Nice seeing you, Rin. Haru, I'll see you tomorrow." Yuki nodded and walked out of the room.

Kagura yelled to him in a bit of a temper. "What about me, Yun-chan?"

"Goodbye, Kagura," he called back tonelessly.

"I'm going to go talk with Kyou. I have more tact than you, Kagura-nee, and I won't try to kill him if he makes me angry," Haru added with mirth as he rose from the table.

"Hmph! Now who's the hypocrite? Do you have any idea what you're like when you're Black?" Kagura didn't mean for him to answer her rhetorical question. This was an ancient argument that they had had a million times since Rin moved in with her and she had been forced to see the Cow all the time. "We don't want you here, anyway. It's girl talk time!"

---------------

Haru ignored Kagura's ridiculous behavior and left the house. From the grunting coming from the back yard, Haru deducted that Kyou had come down off the roof to practice martial arts. "Kyou," he announced to the Cat, who was furiously kicking the air, "I know why you're so upset."

"The hell you do. Didn't Kagura tell you what I said to her?" Kyou wiped sweat from his brow and frowned at Hatsuharu.

"Somewhat, but I know that you didn't tell her the reason you ran out, and why you've been avoiding everyone at school. Tohru and Yuki, it's tearing you up inside."

"Are you looking for a fight?" Kyou demanded dangerously, pulling Haru close by the collar. "Because it sure sounds like it."

Leaning back from Kyou's grip, Haru glared at him. "Don't piss me off, Kyou. I didn't come here to fight you. I came here to talk to you."

"I'm not talking to you, or Kagura, or Tohru, or anybody! Why won't you people let me be?" he shouted, flinging his hand away from Haru and turning his back on his cousin, arms crossed. The next thing he knew he was lying prostrate with Hatsuharu's foot on his back. "What the hell?!?"

"We aren't 'you people,' we're your family! You're always pushing everyone away when you're really mad at yourself. Tohru hasn't done anything to deserve how you're treating her! Get up!!! Now we are fighting!" Haru waited for him to rise before planting his fist hard into Kyou's ribs.

With a roar, Kyou fought back. Now that he had brought out Black Haru he didn't have a choice. Limbs flew and fists landed. They finally quit, worn out, at a draw. "You really did get better," panted Kyou, taking a seat on the edge of the porch.

"Yeah, so did you." By his calmness, he was White Haru again. "Are you ready to talk now, Kyou?" he asked serenely as he sat next to Kyou.

"Fine, we'll talk. I know you're not stupid. I can't help it if I'm angry. I know that you understand what it's like to lose the person you care about more than anything," he said in subdued anger, massaging the sore muscles in his arm. He was surprised that no one in the house had heard the fight and come to see what was going on.

Haru straightened his leather wristband and answered slowly. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I do know what you're going through. It may be hard to accept Tohru liking Yuki now, but acting as you have been isn't doing any good. Either you be nice to Tohru and keep her as a friend, or you drive her away and lose everything. Kyou, when you get locked away you'll regret it if you were cruel to her in your last few months together."

"Don't say that! I'm not going to get locked away," he said firmly. "I'm going to beat that damn Rat once and for all and earn my place in this family!"

Haru sighed. "Okay, disregard that. But think about what I said about Tohru. I know that she's important enough to you that you aren't going to reject her for showing more interest in Yuki than yourself."

Kyou took a minute to answer. He knew in his heart that Haru was right, but it was hard to come to terms with. A picture of Tohru's laughing face flashed into his head and made up his mind. The thought that he would never see her laugh like that again was too much. If he did lose to Yuki, which he didn't even want to consider, he would spend the rest of his life in misery if he knew that he had wasted his last moments with her on jealousy. "I won't. I'm not. Haru, I'm not going to do that anymore. For once in your idiotic existence, you're right."

Haru's eyebrows raised at the last part, but he was willing to accept Kyou's answer. "You up for another round?"

Kyou ignored him and gave him a suspicious look. "Haru, you aren't going to tell anyone about this! If you do, I'll kill you!"

"Let's fight for it. You win, I won't tell anyone except Rin. You lose, I tell Yuki," he suggested with a grin.

"You wouldn't!"

"That's the deal. Yes or no?" Haru shrugged

"Fine! But you can't turn Black!!!" Kyou raised his fists threateningly.

"You know I can't control that. Let's go." Kyou started the fight before Haru's last words were out of his mouth. There was no way he could let the Cow get away with this one.

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"Would you like some more tea?" Tohru asked cheerfully once Haru had left. She wasn't exactly happy on the inside, but she didn't want to burden her guests with her problems.

"I'm fine, Tohru-kun." Rin smiled at Tohru. "And I wouldn't worry too much about Kyou. Haru will take care of him."

"What's going on, anyway, Tohru-kun?" Kagura inquired. "Is Kyou-kun being mean to you?"

Tohru placed her head in her hands at the feeling of tears springing to her eyes. "I don't know what I did to make him so angry with me."

Kagura embraced her friend, who she looked at as a little sister. Tohru was too innocent not to love. "Aw, it's not you, Tohru-kun. He's just mad about Yuki. He's got some serious things to think about coming up, and he's just being angry with everyone."

"You mean being locked away?" Tohru asked, sobbing. She had almost forgotten about Kyou's imprisonment in her attempt to put the incident with Akito in the back of her mind. She felt so awful about being insensitive to his plight.

"You know about that?!?" Kagura's eyes were huge with wonder. "But how did you…?"

"That's not important, Kagura," Rin interrupted. "Tohru-kun, Haru knows Kyou very well. They've been training since childhood together. I'm sure he'll talk some sense into him. I don't think we should talk about this anymore. What do you say, Kagura?" Kagura nodded, so Rin continued. "Haru tells me that you and Yuki have gotten closer suddenly."

"Really?" asked Kagura giddily. "I didn't hear that! What happened?"

Mortified, Tohru blushed. "Oh, nothing much." She didn't feel right telling about Yuki's childhood secrets, knowing that he had told her about that in confidence. "We've just been talking a lot lately. Yuki-kun has always been very kind to me."

Kagura jumped up and down in her place. "Well, something must have happened! Did he kiss you yet?" she asked quietly but delightedly.

"Eh!?!" Tohru went from pink to red in seconds. "K-kiss? Uh, um, no, nothing like that!"

"Okay," Kagura laughed. "I won't embarrass you. I bet Yun-chan is a good kisser, though! He's always been concerned with how other people feel. I bet he would be a tender and caring kisser! Tohru-kun, you have to tell me all about it when-"

"Kagura!" Rin said sharply. "Stop it! You're humiliating the poor girl. Let's talk about something else." Rin would have like to find out what it was that Akito had said to Tohru on New Years, but this wasn't the right time. If this was any indication of how Tohru acted when asked about uncomfortable things, a conversation about Akito would probably make her keel right over.

Instead, they talked about more superficial topics, like school and new fashions. Kagura did most of the talking, and mostly to Tohru, who listened and nodded as if in a daze. The subject seemed to turn to Yuki, though, with Kagura in charge, so Tohru was permanently flushed. Kagura gave her all sorts of instructions on what Yuki liked and disliked, and things that Tohru should say to him. Rin cringed inside at the thought of Tohru going through with most of the suggestions, but she kept relatively quiet. Besides, she didn't think that Tohru would have the guts to wear or say even a fraction of the things that Kagura recommended. Rin heard muted sounds of fighting from outside, but only because she knew what to listen for. Kagura's voice was way too loud to hear the noises except that she had expected them. Haru knew that he was going to talk to Kyou today. That was the main reason for him coming, and he knew that the two of them would end up in fisticuffs. 

Eventually, they walked back into the house, bruised and out of breath.

"Kyou-kun! Hatsuharu-kun! Are you all right?" Tohru rose frantically to hover in front of them.

"We're fine, Honda-san," Hatsuharu answered. "We were just practicing. Kyou won." He sounded a bit disappointed at that.

"Kagura," Kyou began, "I'm sorry." Kagura continued to look at her cup of tea on the table. She was going to ignore him until her temper wore off, he decided. He would deal with her later when she wasn't so aggravated. "Tohru?" he said, turning to the girl in front of him, who was looking at him with her big, naïve eyes.

"Yes, Kyou-kun?"

"Sorry," he said rapidly. Tohru radiated happiness when she smiled at him. It was a little contagious and he found himself smiling back. "I have to go take a shower," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head. "I'll see you guys later." He literally ran from the room in embarrassment. He would never live that down.

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"Tohru-kun, did the other kiddies leave?" Shigure asked in feigned sadness. Finally, his house was back in order.

"Yes, Shigure-san. They left a few minutes ago." Tohru lifted the tray up off the table and offered it to him. "You didn't get any lunch, Shigure-san! Would you like some riceballs?"

Leering, Shigure picked a mako onigiri up and popped it in his mouth. "Mmm, delicious!" he exclaimed when he was done swallowing. "Is everything okay now, Tohru-kun?" He added emphasis to his words by giving her a serious expression. He knew very well what had been going on between his three housemates. 

"I think it is, Shigure-san," Tohru said, for once returning his serious look. He was partially surprised that she had picked up on his meaning. Even so, he was glad to hear that Tohru was happy. There wasn't much happiness left to be had, and Tohru of all people deserved as much as she could get before the end. Times were going to get worse very soon. Shigure didn't let on to any of this, though. His smile remained plastered on his face as he discussed his new novel with Tohru. Poor, sweet Tohru-kun.

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A/N: Well, I hope you liked chapter 10. We've got a ways to go, and much more action to come! There's a big climax coming soon, so be on the look-out! I hope my faithful readers are willing to hang in there for my big dramatic finish (it'll be a while!). Keep reading and reviewing. It really makes my day!

Thanks to:

Zapenstap: I think it should be called the "Hot Haru Club" too ^_~, but I figure that Minami's little sister is probably as annoying as she is, so she wouldn't be that original. Thanks for all the compliments. You know I trust your opinions most!

C.B.: I am evil! Hehehe. You'll have to read and find out!

Merei-chan: I don't think those dumb girls can handle Kyou's manliness! They only like the pretty boy Sohmas, although Haru _is_ decidedly sexy.

kireina: We'll be seeing some more mean Akito shortly!

PikaChan: I love writing Shigure and Aya together. Expect more of them as comic relief.

Lady Kara: I've often thought of how Yuki and Kyou should combine to form one person. Kyuki? Yukyou? Haha. Where's your story? I've been waiting patiently, but you got me all excited to read it!

Chibi Charlie-chan: Well, I updated soon! The story is still getting warmed up, if you can believe that. The plot will take a dramatic twist and get much better (IMHO) soon!

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Advertisement: Read my other fic! It's got lots of fun fluffiness for fans of all pairings! Sound interesting? It's called "Furuba Love Stories" and so far you can read about Rin x Haru, Tohru x Yuki. Tohru x Kyou, and Kisa x Hiro. Uo x Kureno coming soon!


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Why can't I own Fruits Basket? I'm going to pout now.

Warning: Another tiny lime.

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Chapter 11:

Rin dialed the number for the fourth time that day. The first two times Tohru had answered in her sweet way, and the third time Kyou had been on the other end, his tone angry as usual. Rin hadn't responded to them, though. She had just hung up and waited a while before trying again. Keeping this conversation private was dearly important to her and her mission. A month she had waited since she had seen Shigure at his house during her visit, a month of wondering and pondering that had gotten her nowhere. Today she was going to try a new approach.

"Hello?" came a singsong voice through the receiver.

Finally, the person she was trying to talk to had answered. "Shi-chan, I need to talk to you."

"Rin?"

"Just listen to me. It's no use denying that you're working on the curse, so don't try. I've figured out how to begin breaking it, but not the end. Have you figured that part out yet?" There. Maybe coming right out and saying it would do some good, although it was impossible to catch the Dog off guard.

"Rin," he began, "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Like hell you don't!" she yelled, interrupting his deflecting technique. "I know that you know, and I'm going to keep calling you until you give me something to work with!" Maybe she was being a little loud, but she didn't care. If only she had something to blackmail him with. Enraged, she kicked over a pile of clothes that were sitting on the floor and sat down hard on her bed. Shigure was so irritating.

After what seemed like a lifetime, he slowly answered her. "Fine. I see there's no use in evading the issue with you. Things are going to happen very soon, so I'll let you know when you'll be of use." 

As simple as that she had gotten what she wanted, just a mere recognition that things were indeed in motion. "Thank you, Shigure." A muffled sound of footsteps up the stairs froze her in her place. She didn't want any suspicions raised at all, for everyone's sake. If Akito knew…. "I need to go," she whispered, and went to place the phone back on the base.

"Rin!" Shigure's voice called to her when the phone was several inches from her ear. She hurriedly put the receiver back so she could hear what he was saying. "Please don't call the house and hang up anymore. Kyou thinks someone is stalking Tohru now." A click and a dial tone followed, so Rin threw the phone down on the base and picked up her math book. The person outside was approaching her door.

Seconds later there was a familiar knock followed by a more familiar voice. "Rin?"

-------------------

Shigure rubbed his chin thoughtfully after ending his conversation with Rin. He knew the day would come when she would confront him more directly about the curse. How to place her in with the already laid-out plans, though, might be a problem. As long as he could find something for her to do, she should be sufficed. Ah! He had the perfect task. She would do nicely in that role. Picking up the phone once more, he quickly dialed a number. Before the call's recipient had a greeting out, Shigure was already speaking. "We have help."

--------------------

"Math homework, hmm?" Haru stared at Rin as he stepped into the room. He knew that she hadn't been studying very hard, since the book was upside-down, but he decided not to say anything more on the subject. Angering someone who you were going to ask a favor of wasn't perhaps the best idea, and questioning Rin's integrity was sure to bring out that icy temper.

"What do you want, Haru?" Her tone was maybe a little more curt than she had intended, but he always barged in on her at the most inopportune times, and it made her furious. Last time he hadn't even knocked, and she had barely had enough time to wrap her robe around herself before he got an eyeful. Of course, he had seen her before, but not unexpectedly like that. A hot blush crept up her cheeks, and she scowled at Haru to mentally punish him as the cause of it.

Haru grinned at her mischievously. She knew that he could read her mind, and that only made her blush harder. That robe hadn't stayed on very long the last time. "I wanted to know if you would to go to the city with me. You know, shopping and dinner, or whatever."

"You're just asking me to go with you so you don't get lost," Rin said with a gleam in her eye and a sly smile. "Why don't you just admit it?"

In one swift motion, Haru grabbed Rin around her waist and pulled her to her feet, pressing her body against his. "Maybe so," he answered ambiguously, "but maybe not. Come on, I know you want to get out of this house." He glanced down at her math book, now lying dismally on the floor. "And I know you hate math. Let's go have some fun." Playfully, he made biting motions at her, causing her to lean away from him. With his deep rumble of a laugh, he let go of her suddenly, making her lose her balance and fall on her back onto the bed. He quickly followed, catching himself with his arms before he fell on her.

Rin wondered at how considerate Haru was not to crush her even in his Black form. She was certain that he had changed somewhere along the line. Rin knew from experience that turning Black sometimes meant other emotions than anger, although she doubted that anyone else knew that. Looking from side to side, she saw that he had trapped her between his arms, and he was lying heavily on her legs. There was no escaping him now, not that she minded, really. Rin seemed to be the only person who actually enjoyed Black Haru. Coyly, she smiled up at him. "So, I guess we aren't going out after all." This had happened enough times to know that he wasn't going to stop so they could go shopping.

"Sure we are." Haru adjusted himself so that he was lying next to her rather than on her, and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "It's still early. We have the whole night ahead of us." Frowning thoughtfully, he examined the contents of the room until his eyes fell on her folding chair at her desk. "Perfect. We don't need any interruptions from Kagura this time." 

Rin turned an even deeper shade of pink as she remembered clamoring into her robe once again the last time as Kagura had come traipsing into her room. The Boar hadn't even been embarrassed! She had giggled and made a big point about checking out Haru's backside as he pulled on his pants. That hadn't gone over well, and the night had ended with both of them losing their tempers and screaming at each other so loudly that Kagura's mother had to come in and throw Haru out of the house. The whole ordeal was ridiculous. Luckily, this time Haru used some foresight and braced the chair against the door handle to keep unwanted guests out. Rin would have to remember to do that next time she was on the phone with Shigure or undressing.

Haru switched off the lights after flashing his devilish smile, which was belied by the caring look in his steel-colored eyes. "Should we start over again, or just take it up where we left off last time?" he asked her softly once he found his way back to the bed.

"Start over," she answered in a shy, almost child-like voice. She couldn't ever get used to this kind of talk, even if it was with Haru.

"All right, but then we might not have time to go out later," he chided, kissing her ear in all the spots he knew drove her crazy.

Latching onto two handfuls of his hair, she moved his face in front of hers, although she couldn't see him in the darkness. "I don't care. I just want Haru." Desperately, she raised her head to meet his lips in a passionate kiss, driving home her words.

Haru found himself slipping out of his wanton Blackness and into his more serene White form. He gently broke from Rin's kiss and used a hand to brush his fingers across her burning cheeks. "I just want to love Rin."

----------------

"Honda-san, did you want to go over the Crimean War again?"

Tohru looked up from her notes and gave Yuki a flustered shake of her head. "No, Yuki-kun, I couldn't ask that. I've already taken up so much of your time and I should know all of that by now."

Smiling, Yuki grasped Tohru's arm gently. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to help you as much as you need, although I think you're already prepared for finals now. Maybe you should be tutoring me," he added with a light chuckle.

Tohru's blushing face could be seen through the veil of her bangs. "I just want to pass finals on the first try, not take the re-tests. I could never be smart enough to tutor you."

"Honda-san, don't think so little of yourself. There are many things that you know far more about than I do, like cooking and being social and taking care of people." Yuki realized that he was making her blush worse, so he flipped through his notebook to the chemistry section. "Let's forget the War for now. How about the valence electrons of the halogens? Which one of these drawings is Bromine?"

After staring at the page with glassy eyes for several minutes, Tohru couldn't focus anymore. "I don't know, Yuki-kun," she whimpered. "I'm so sorry that I forgot everything you worked so hard to teach me. I'm going to fail Mom, I know it." 

She wasn't crying, yet, but Yuki could see the tears pooling in her eyes. "Come on, Honda-san," he said, getting up from the table. "They've done all sorts of experiments that say you can study too much. Maybe it's time we stopped and took a break until tomorrow. Would you like to do something else, like watch a movie?"

"A movie?" she questioned, as though the word was foreign.

"Yes, Honda-san, a movie, to take our minds off of all this schoolwork. I think Kisa and Hiro left a few over here last time. Care to join me?" He stretched out a hand to assist her to her feet, and then led her to the recreation room, where the television was set up. "Which one should we choose?" he asked her, referring to the small stack of videos on the TV.

Several minutes went by as Tohru squinted at the titles. "Hmm, this one? No, this one…no, I don't know. I can't decide," she finally said in desperation.

Yuki smiled at the back of her head and sighed. She was so eager to please that she wouldn't tell him what she wanted. He had to do something about that. Grabbing her shoulders, he spun her around to face him with her large innocent eyes. "Honda-san," he began seriously, "I'm not going to be upset if you make the choices you want. No one is. I want you to feel comfortable enough with me to tell me what you want or don't want. It's not your job to defer to everyone else in the world." She continued to stare at him as though she didn't know what to say. She probably didn't. "Now, I'm going to go get us some snacks. Why don't you pick a movie and surprise me when I get back."

As Yuki stood in the kitchen pouring them tea, he smiled. Tohru needed that sometimes, to keep her from trying to please everyone all the time. She would get herself hurt with that behavior, and he wouldn't allow that. Yuki wanted to spend as much time with her and help her as much as possible before he had to go back to Akito's side. Nodding in acknowledgment of his success in speaking his mind with her, he placed the tea and some rice crackers on a tray and returned to the rec room. Tohru was sitting on the floor with a huge grin on her face, as though she was proud of herself. 

"I picked a movie, Yuki-kun. I hope you like it!" Her smile was so big that he pondered at whether or not it was hurting her cheeks.

"I'm sure I will," he told her with his own smile. Sitting down next to her, he pressed "play" on the remote control. "Ah, I heard this was good. Some of the Student Council members were talking about it."

Tohru plucked lightly at Yuki's sleeve and flushed as he looked down on her. "Thank you, Yuki-kun. I think I needed that." In response, Yuki kissed her gently on her forehead and they both settled in to watch the movie.

Not too long went by before Shigure came into the room, though. "Ah, sweethearts sitting in a dark room, pretending to watch a movie. It's like a scene from one of my novels," he teased, until he saw Yuki's death glare. "Eh? All right, all right, don't get angry, Yuki-kun. I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to the Honke for a bit. Don't be too naughty while I'm gone." 

Yuki flung a cracker at his head, but Shigure closed the door just in time and it bounced onto the floor. "Don't worry about him, Honda-san. He's uncouth." Tohru just giggled.

Later, the door was opened again to reveal Kyou's head, apparently just back from the dojo. He took one look at Tohru and Yuki, making his expression change from puzzlement to embarrassment to anger in an instant. He too slammed the door, and they heard him stomping around on the roof a few minutes later. 

"Don't worry about him, either, Honda-san." But he could see that his words had little effect since the pain was evident in her eyes. She couldn't stand hurting Kyou, but Yuki decided not to think about that and spoil the moment. Instead he hesitantly tapped her arm and cleared his throat. "Um, Honda-san, I wanted to ask you something."

Tohru looked at him with her most naïve expression. "Yes?"

Clearing his throat again, Yuki forced himself to look into her eyes. "I was wondering, Honda-san, if you wanted to go out with me tomorrow afternoon. You know, it's White Day, and I actually had something planned if you were interested."

Tohru grinned from ear to ear and flung her arms around him, realizing too late that it wasn't such a good idea. A small rat rested on her knee and she buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun, I forgot. I'm such an idiot."

"Don't worry about it, Honda-san," Yuki squeaked. "So does this mean you'll go with me?"

Tohru removed her hands from her face and cupped Yuki's Zodiac form in them. "Of course," she answered giddily, tilting her head to the side. A puff of smoke encompassed the room again as he transformed back. Tohru shrieked and averted her gaze in humiliation so Yuki could replace his clothes.

"Um, maybe we should rewind the movie a bit," Yuki suggested, signaling that it was fine for Tohru to look again.

"Okay, Yuki-kun," Tohru blurted out, but she found herself beginning to giggle at what had happened. Before long, Yuki was laughing along with her.

----------------

Moving quietly through the compound, Shigure pulled his yukata close around him. The air was still chilling even this late in winter. He was almost to Akito's residence, the largest in the Honke, when he heard a rustling behind him. Shigure ducked into a narrow alleyway between two of the houses to let whoever it was pass by him, but when the shadow of the other person came to the alley opening, it stopped, obviously waiting for him. "Are you not on your way to Akito-sama?" said an inquisitive voice.

"Hello, Kureno-kun. I am indeed on my way, but I wanted to avoid undesirable attention. You should have announced yourself sooner." Shigure brushed away the alley's cobwebs, which had stuck to his clothing, as he emerged from the passage. "Shall we?"

Kureno made no answer except to walk stiffly ahead towards their destination. With a shrug, Shigure followed him. Kureno and himself had never been at odds with each other, but they hadn't ever been good friends, either, despite their closeness in age. In reality, Kureno had always been so near to Akito and his predecessor that Shigure didn't think he knew how to be friends. For all Shigure knew, Kureno thought they were bosom buddies.

"I was told to wait outside," Kureno informed Shigure as they stood outside Akito's room. Shigure clapped him on the shoulder, evoking a look of confusion, and went into the room.

"Shigure, how nice to see you," Akito rasped from the porch. The Jyuunishi's master was lying with his back turned, one of his tiny white birds perching on his finger. The moonlight came through the trees perfectly so that only his body was illuminated, none of the surroundings, making him look like some ethereal building. Shigure wondered at how fitting that image was.

"Good evening, Akito-san. I bring some interesting news." Shigure sank to his knees before Akito could accuse him of being petulant. 

"How fascinating. Why don't you tell me?" Akito flicked the bird into the air and rolled over to stare at Shigure with his penetratingly dark eyes.

"Well, it seems that Yuki and Tohru have grown quite close this past month. You know, graduation is almost upon them. Are you still going through with the plan?" Shigure didn't want to hurt his cousins or Tohru, so he repeated to himself over and over that it was for their own good.

Dry laughter filled the room and Akito moved swiftly to stand before Shigure. "Don't question my intentions, my loyal Dog. Everything is going better than I had hoped. How is that monster taking it?"

Shigure bowed his head to hide his frown. Kyou was troubling to him, as he had grown introverted and almost depressed. Things needed to be put in motion before he gave up on life completely. "He is obviously hurt by what's going on."

"Good. A subhuman beast like him should suffer as much as possible. I think I have something that may 'improve' his mood. Kureno!" he screeched so loudly that Shigure winced at the piercing noise. Kureno humbly entered the room with a stack of envelopes. "Shigure, see that you deliver these tomorrow," Akito continued in eerie laughter. "You'll find that there's one for each of you." Snatching the envelopes from Kureno's hand, he tossed them onto Shigure's lap and walked back to the porch. "You may both leave me now," he told them simply.

-----------------

A/N: I'm such a horrible liar. I promised regular updates, and then I go and leave you hanging for weeks. Please don't flame me though, because I have a peace offering: Another new chapter in the next week. What do you say? I think it's fair. Anyway, I hope you liked it enough to read and review, if you would. It's always appreciated!

Thanks to:

Merei-chan: No this is definitely not a Hana/ Akito fic! Although they will meet again….

Lady Kara: Thanks! ^_^

Zapenstap: ^_~ Always my biggest fan! I love your in depth analysis of my work. Keep it coming!

BlackDragonFly: It's quite an honor to be on your favorites list! I hope I keep doing it justice so it can stay there!

Sakura Avalon or Kinomoto: Did I get the next chapter out before spoon and fork time? I hope so, because that sure sounds painful!

Bishiegurlie: Even though you didn't leave a review, thanks for telling me you read it and liked it!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Fine! It doesn't belong to me! Are you happy now? ^_~

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Chapter 12:

Momiji bounced down the school hallway when he saw Tohru approaching with her friends and his two older cousins, something pink fluttering in his hand. "Happy White Day, Tohru!" he exclaimed. He jumped up to embrace her but was pulled away by his collar before he could make contact.

"Idiot!"

Shaking off Kyou's hand, Momiji returned his effervescent smile to Tohru. "I got you something. You have to put it on!"

"Eh? Oh, Momiji-kun, you didn't have to get me anything," she told him as though reluctant to accept a present. Momiji ignored her and shoved the pink bundle at her with a laugh. Tohru could see that it was a pair of pink roses surrounded in matching ribbons.

"What the hell is _that_?" Kyou asked him disgustedly. He leaned closer to peer at the pink flower arrangement like it was some foreign insect.

Momiji faced his older and larger cousin with a proud expression. "It's a corsage, silly. Tohru's going to wear it on her wrist today."

"A…corsage?" Yuki inquired timidly.

"Yes, because she's my White Day date!"

Tohru laughed uncomfortably when she heard that, and her eyes glazed over a bit. In her stunned state, Momiji was able to lead her off down the hall without much prodding. Kyou stood stock still, glaring at Momiji's back before finally growling and storming off in the other direction. Yuki's face was one of bewilderment, and he worked his mouth as if to say something but couldn't find the words.

"It's okay, Prince," Uo said, slapping him on the back none too gently. "I'm sure he'll let you have her when he's done."

Hana nodded thoughtfully. "I wonder. Why did the ribbons on the corsage have 'Momiji' printed all over them?"

Laughing uproariously, Uo slapped Yuki on the back once again. "I didn't even see that! Maybe you won't get her back so easily, Princey."

Yuki's brow furrowed in anger and he left to follow Tohru and his cousin down the hall.

"The Prince sure has been getting angrier more. Maybe he decided to let some feelings out once in a while," Uo postulated to her friend.

"Mmm. Our Tohru-kun does have that effect on people."

-----------------

By the time lunch rolled around, Yuki was still a little upset about Momiji claiming Tohru as his "date," but Tohru had convinced him not to get too angry about it. He couldn't stay very mad when she smiled and told him that she would go along with Momiji's request at school, but that she would be Yuki's White Day date afterwards. There had been a fair amount of blushing on both parts, and Yuki had been disappointed when the warning bell rang and interrupted their conversation. Now Momiji was sitting next to Tohru at the outside bench where the small group always ate. He was holding her hand and giving her chocolates from his lunch box, but Yuki decided not to worry about it. Grudgingly, he admitted to himself that Momiji wasn't a threat to his position with Tohru. No, his energetic cousin was like a doting brother to Tohru if anything. He actually found it sweet that Tohru would put up with someone so obnoxious, and not make fun of the little Rabbit like so many others had done in the past. Not that she could ever make fun of someone.

"Why don't you leave her alone, you little brat? It's not like she can eat with you holding her hand like that," Kyou said, the hint of jealousy obvious in his voice.

Kyou. Yuki's only competition with Tohru. If she didn't like the baka neko so much, Yuki would have beaten him to a pulp already. Yuki figured that it didn't matter, though, because Kyou was going to be locked away in a few days. Graduation was that close. And although graduating meant that Yuki would be forced to move back into the Honke, a fact that shook him to his core, Kyou would be much worse off for it. Yuki would still be allowed _some_ freedom, not like the Cat. Kyou wouldn't see anyone except Akito ever again. Wondrously, Yuki couldn't think about that as smugly as he had before. It was probably the knowledge that it would make Tohru sad. He certainly would never mourn the loss of the baka neko. Not him. Not the Rat.

"Kyou-kyou is no fun!" Momiji whined, and let go of Tohru's hand regretfully.

Tohru smiled at Momiji brightly. "Thank you for the chocolates, Momiji-kun. I don't know what I did to deserve all of these presents!"

"Can we hold hands again after lunch?" Momiji asked, causing Tohru to turn pink.

Snarling, Kyou knuckled his smaller cousin in the head. "Don't ask her things like that! Didn't you ever learn any manners?" 

"That's pretty ironic, coming from you," Arisa chortled. 

"Shut up, Yankee!"

"I think you're just jealous. I bet you wanted to give Tohru your White Day gift first," Uo teased. "What did you get her, anyway? Hopefully it's a set of earplugs so she doesn't go deaf listening to you yell all the time."

Kyou's face became deep red in a matter of seconds. He looked as though he would explode with rage. "I should get some earplugs for myself! That way I wouldn't have to listen to _you_ anymore, Uotani!" Kyou rose from the table and threw the rest of his lunch away violently. Growling, he stalked off towards the back of the school building, where he could get up to the roof.

"What's _his_ problem? I was only joking."

Hatsuharu was watching Kyou as he retreated. "I don't think my talk with him worked. Honda-san, has Kyou been mean to you again?

"Eh? Oh, no, Hatsuharu-kun, he's been very nice to me," Tohru reassured him. "I noticed that he loses his temper with other people more often, though," she added and lowered her head in sadness.

Haru lifted one corner of his mouth in a slight smile. "Well, we can't expect him to change overnight." Haru was just relieved that Kyou had been managing to treat Tohru normally, even if it was at the expense of others. He had an idea of what it was like trying to control himself like that. Trying to imagine repressing his Black side seemed impossible, and Kyou was much more volatile than he was.

"You can't expect much of him at all," Yuki amended quietly.

"Honda-san," Haru said, changing the subject. "I wanted to ask for your opinion on something. You two, also," he said, looking at Hana and Uo. "Do you think Rin will like this for White Day?" Reaching into his bag, Haru pulled out something wrapped in tissue paper, which had flowers and large kanji decorating it.

"Haru, that isn't…?" Yuki asked in a frightened tone.

"Yeah, I got it at Ayame's shop. Mine helped me pick it out. She's got some pretty daring taste."

Yuki swallowed hard and prepared himself for the worst as Haru unwrapped the garment. He had seen Mine's work before. What Haru finally displayed, though, didn't look like clothing. It was more like a black lace handkerchief, with some sort of loop and hook fasteners along one side and… "Haru, what _is_ that?" he squeaked out, horrified.

Tohru just stared, her face a mirror of Momiji's as they looked on curiously, still confused by what exactly it was they were looking at. "Honda-san, don't look at it!" Yuki warned her in a cracked voice.

Even Uo was a little put off by the present, her jaw hanging open and her eyes wide. "You actually brought that to school with you?!"

Only Saki seemed unaffected. "Hmm, it's very well-made. Is that Venetian lace?" Haru shrugged and handed her the outfit. "Yes, I thought it was. I have to ask you, though, isn't this more of a present for you and not your girlfriend?"

Haru smirked mischievously. "I guess you haven't met my girlfriend. She's really into this stuff." He glanced at his watch and quickly packed the garment back onto his bag. "Speaking of which, I'm going to miss the rest of the day. I want to give her this before Kagura's parents get home." Briefly waving, Hatsuharu strode over to the chain link fence and hopped over it skillfully.

"Hanajima, sometimes you even creep _me_ out," Uo said half seriously, shaking her head.

Yuki, Tohru, and Momiji still looked stunned by the whole incident. Yuki knew that Haru wasn't shy, but showing off things like that in front of Tohru had surprised him. If he was lucky, Tohru wouldn't realize what it was she had seen, and she wouldn't ask him about it. The ringing of the lunch bell saved him from his fears. Yuki watched as Momiji grabbed Tohru's hand once again and led her off to class.

----------------

When the final bell rang, Uo and Hana hurried to Tohru's desk. Uo glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "Tohru, what has the Prince got planned for you today?" she asked excitedly.

"Um…what do you mean?"

"C'mon, we know that he's got something planned. There's no use denying that you guys are an item now, so spill it," Uo snorted, her eyes twinkling with anticipation.

Tohru remained dumbfounded and looked at Hana for support. Hana merely nodded. "It's true, Tohru-kun. The electrical signals between the two of you have been very powerful lately." Her gaze turned skyward as she imagined the intensity of the vibes.

"Oh," moaned Tohru as she rested her head on her desktop to hide her shame. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I don't even know what's going on."

Arisa laughed heartily and ruffled Tohru's hair. "It's called love. Did he ask you to be his girlfriend?"

Tohru kept her head glued to her desk but hook it lightly. "No," she answered quietly. "Oh, Hana-chan, Uo-chan, my feelings are so mixed up. I mean he's so important to me, but I'm just so stupid about that sort of thing. And I know that Kyou-kun is upset that I've been spending so much time with Yuki-kun, and what if-"

"Tohru-kun," Hana whispered warningly. Tohru lifted her head to see Yuki standing right behind Uo. Her face immediately changed to one of humiliation and she felt the heat rising in it. How long had he been there? She would be so embarrassed if he had heard what she said.

"Honda-san, are you ready to go?" Yuki asked her with a concerned expression. She looked upset for some reason, but he wasn't sure why. It probably had to do with why she shut up so quickly as he had approached. Glancing to his sides, he saw that he was getting a smug expression from Arisa and a blank one from Saki. "Good afternoon Uotani-san, Hanajima-san," he told them with a pleasant smile. Getting on their bad sides wouldn't help his position with Tohru in the slightest.

Jumping up from her seat, Tohru grabbed her books and shoved them in her backpack. "Yes, I'm ready!" she exclaimed loudly, her blush escalating. 

Yuki just smiled back at her warmly. "All right. Shall we?" He offered his arm to her and led her out the door, after she turned to say good bye to her friends. 

"Where are we going?" she inquired once they go to the front of the building. Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh, no! I didn't tell Kyou-kun that I wasn't going to go home with him!" She felt horrible for neglecting to tell him. He would probably be so angry with her.

With a fleeting frown, Yuki responded to her worries. "I told him earlier that we would be spending the day together, so he'll be fine." Of course, he didn't add the part about the fight that had nearly erupted in the hallway after school had ended. That's why it had taken him several minutes to retrieve Tohru from the classroom. "As for where we're going, it's a surprise."

"Okay," she smiled, and felt a little hop form in her step. She was really excited for whatever Yuki had planned, and couldn't seem to keep her mind on anything else, although she was glad the Kyou appeared to be fine with everything.

Yuki let the sharp breeze whip his hair about is face as he chatted with Tohru about upcoming finals. Graduation was only two days away, but he had decided to be hopeful for the future. Akito might keep him at his side as much as Kureno, but his life would be livable. Even Kureno has some free time when he wasn't serving the Jyuunishi God, and Yuki had resolved to spend all of that free time with the girl at his side. And all those hours spent as Akito's pet he would utilize for thinking. If there was a way to break the curse, he would come up with it. He had a lifetime to spend, and nothing more important to live for than Tohru.

"Yuki-kun, is this…?" Tohru had frozen in her tracks, searching the area around them with her eyes. "But…it looks so different!"

Letting himself enjoy her bewilderment a little longer, he walked over to a large rock and reached behind it to pull out a picnic basket. "Do you recognize where we are yet, Honda-san?"

"This is, this is where my tent was. But it looks so different! How did you…?"

Yuki softly chuckled and set the picnic basket at her feet. "I thought you would be surprised," he said. "I began working on this last month, as a White Day present for you. I wanted you to remember this place happily, not as a place of despair." He didn't go into detail about how much time he had put into fixing the area up; he had gotten some help from the rats in the area and cleared away the overgrown debris from the landslide. Then he had planted some of Tohru's favorite flowers along the riverbank, where they had grown before the area had been destroyed along with her makeshift house. Tohru might never have said it, but he knew that she had developed an aversion to this place, and he didn't want her to have unsavory memories anymore.

"And a picnic, too?" she asked, her face finally breaking into a huge grin. "This is so nice of you, Yuki-kun. I will always remember this place as a good memory now!" Tohru bent to examine some of the tiny flowers that were just starting to bloom with the spring. She was stunned with how kind Yuki had been to make this place even more beautiful than when she had moved in. "It seems like so long ago that I lived in my little tent," she reminisced. "I wonder what ever happened to it. I hope Grandfather isn't mad that I borrowed it and couldn't return it."

"You can return it now, if you want to," Yuki said. Again he reached behind the boulder and pulled out the tent, cleaned and neatly folded. "I washed it out in the river and hung it to dry on the first sunny day. There were a few tears, but I think I repaired them all."

Gathering the tent from Yuki, she clasped it in her arms as if hugging an old friend. "Tent-san! I'm sorry I left you outside all this time. Please forgive me! Oh, Yuki-kun, I have an idea, let's use the tent like a blanket while we eat our meal!"

Smiling, Yuki took the rejuvenated yellow tent back from Tohru and spread it on the ground. Tohru sat down and began going through the picnic basket and extracting its contents. "Yuki-kun, how did you get all of this food here like this?" she questioned, setting canned drinks down for both of them.

"If you recall, Haru left a little early from school today," he said, and waited for her to nod before he continued. "When I told him what I had planned for you today, he offered to pick up the food from the market and bring it here for me. I guess I just wasn't expecting such a dramatic exit from him," he mumbled.

With a giggle, Tohru munched on a potsticker. "I guess he wanted a special White Day with Isuzu-san, too." Yuki blushed and hoped that she wasn't talking about what he expected Haru and Rin were doing. "Maybe he's having a picnic for her, too, although I don't think she can wear that outfit in public," she added with another giggle and blushing cheeks.

Yuki blushed right along with her. "Honda-san, I'm very sorry that I'll have to leave you after graduation. Akito doesn't give me with any choice, though."

"It'll be okay, Yuki-kun," she assured him with a serious expression. "I'll work twice as hard to find a way to break the curse, I swear!"

"I know that you will, but it worries me, too." Yuki reached across the space between him and swept her bangs out of her eyes. "I don't want you to do anything to get yourself hurt while I'm away. Shigure will take care of you, but I don't trust him completely. Just promise me that you'll keep your well being in mind. If anything were to happen to you…I don't even want to think about it."

"I'll be very careful," she said. "But will I _ever_ get the chance to see you?"

Blushes increased on both parts as Yuki moved himself closer to Tohru's side and rested his palm on her cheek. "Every chance that I get, I will spend with you, Honda-san." The heat of her cheek elicited a tingling sensation in his cold hand. "Honda-san…." Leaning ever closer, Yuki locked his icy violet eyes onto her wide sienna ones and slowly, softly pressed his lips to hers. He lowered his eyelids so he was seeing her only through his long lashes, and felt a hint of satisfaction as her eyes lost the shocked look and closed along with his. Sinking into the kiss, Yuki let the moment linger, but he kept their contact innocent, gentle, a kiss of pure affection, not lust or desire. "I apologize," he whispered when they had finally disjoined. "I should have warned you first."

Tohru shook her head rapidly and made eye contact with him despite the fierce redness in her face. "No, Yuki-kun, you made my first kiss very nice. I wouldn't change anything about it." Sighing, she looked back to her meal and began eating once again. Soon they were laughing and things were apparently back to normal, but both had a glint in their eyes, almost as if a weight had been lifted from their chests. Simultaneously they felt closer to one another. No shame or embarrassment or distance remained, and they basked in the moment until at dusk they had to collect themselves to go home.

--------------

'I should have gotten her something,' Kyou thought to himself. He was furious and heartbroken and confused all at once, and his mind couldn't seem to do anything except focus on the girl that had muddled his thoughts. Tohru was probably getting sweet-talked by the kuso nezumi, and there wasn't one thing he could do about it. Maybe the Yankee was right; he should have gotten her earplugs so she wouldn't have to listen to him anymore. He should have gotten her something for White Day. Why did that damn Prince have to win at everything? Didn't he deserve some happiness? Not that it mattered, ultimately. Not when he had two days until his life ended. He would be normal in front of Tohru if it killed him, though, because the last thing he needed was her worrying about him. It pained him to no end to see her suffer.

A rhythmic knocking on his door dragged him from his inner lamenting. "Yeah, what do you want?" he demanded. He knew it would be that stupid Dog, although Shigure wasn't in the habit of knocking.

"Kyou," Shigure announced once he entered the room and shut the door, "I have something for you."

Glaring at his cousin from the corner of his eye, Kyou snatched the proffered object from his hands. An envelope? Why the hell would Shigure be giving him a letter? "What's this? And why do you look so serious? Did your editor finally quit or something?" He figured that editor must be brain-dead if she was working for a pervert and dating Ritsu. Shigure remained silent as Kyou tore open the envelope, after Kyou noticed that the front was adorned simply with a drawing of a cat, not his name.

Upon reading the letter, Kyou's throat suddenly felt very dry, and he stared at Shigure only to notice that the Dog had two more like envelopes in his hand. "Why do you have more?" he croaked. "Why?!"

"There's one for everybody," Shigure said, trying to sound nonchalant. "These are Yuki and Tohru-kun's. Mine is in my office and I already handed out the others."

Clutching the letter, Kyou ran past Shigure and down the stairs. He wasted no time opening the door, ripping through it as he went. He didn't care that he would have to pay for the stupid thing later. Running until he collapsed, Kyou dragged himself to his feet and stumbled the rest of the way to the dojo. He pushed open the front door, that his Shishou never locked, and found Kazuma sitting down to dinner at the table.

He looked as though he had been expecting Kyou. "Did you get one, too?" Kyou yelled.

Kazuma rose to his feet and calmly came to stand near his adopted son. "It's time to see if you are truly meant to be the one, Kyou."

"The one what?!" Kyou felt his voice start to tremble and he dropped to his knees in exhaustion.

"The one to break the curse. Now get up. We are going to train."

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A/N: Whew! I had total writer's block on this chapter for some reason. I fixed it, though, and in the process planned out the rest of the story in greater detail, so I'm all prepared to continue now! Writer's block sucks majorly, by the way. Ok, so I'm not too sure when the next chapter will be out. Probably in a week or two, depending on how many midterms and how much reading I have. Yuck! If you hadn't figured it out, the theme of the next installment will be *dundundun* graduation. And you can see what's in those damn envelopes, too, if you were interested.

Thank you so much to all that reviewed (shadowcat15, Zapenstap, BlackDragonFly, Merei-chan). You are truly awesome! I have to say, though, that the number of reviews per chapter has been pretty low recently. Please let me know if you are still reading this story, or if something has made you less happy with it. I don't know if you don't tell me! So in other words, please review if you've taken the time to read this. It's much appreciated!

*note* Oh, and if you're in the mood for Kyoru, I just wrote a one-shot fic for a contest. It's called "One Last Chance."


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I've given up. I'm never going to own Fruits Basket. I'm going to go wallow now.

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Chapter 13:

Ayame glided through the aisles of his shop, preparing for the morning customers. Despite the specific nature of the merchandise, he had developed quite a reputation among the eccentrics and elites of the city. He kept his clientele in the utmost confidentiality, but he would readily admit that the people who frequented his store were often well known. Shrugging off any who criticized his trade, Ayame was quick to point out that everyone had inner desires that he could fulfill with his products. "Mine?," he called out in a melodic voice.

"Yes, Ayame-tencho," the perky girl replied as she stuck her head out from some bolts of fabric. Two swathes of cloth were draped over her shoulder and she had several pins sticking out from between her lips.

Ayame flicked his wrist dismissively without really looking at her. "It's nothing. I had just forgotten if you were here or not. You shouldn't hold the pins in your mouth. What if you swallowed one?" he asked in melodramatic concern.

Laughing, Mine returned to her task of pinning the material onto the mannequin. "Tencho? The schedule says that you're leaving early today. Is everything all right?" She waited patiently for a few minutes until he came over to stand by her. Ayame could be insufferably particular about the appearance of the store, but Mine admired him for that. She would never have his level of skill with design, but she would try her best. Every day working with him taught her something new about the passion that he had for his work.

"Yes, I have family members to attend to," he said at last. 

"Is it your brother?"

Ayame busied himself with readjusting the angle of the chartreuse silken cloth on the mannequin as he answered. "I'm afraid that this is a big day for Little Brother. It's his graduation, and I'll be attending the ceremony with Shigure and Hatori. They should be here around lunch time to pick me up."

Mine nodded succinctly. "Okay, Sensei. I'll get the orders out this afternoon, and I'm almost done with the summer line."

"You're such an asset to my business," he told her, laughing offhandedly. "I don't know what I would do without you here. I just hope that Yuki is handling graduation better than I did. Naturally, as king of my high school, I never wanted to leave."

Mine smiled at Ayame's back as he retreated, still rambling about his cherished high school memories. She hoped that this day would bring Ayame and his younger brother closer together.

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"Ha-san," Shigure began as they drove out of his driveway, "Are you nervous?"

"About what?" The stoic Dragon kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him, refusing to let his cousin and friend see whatever emotions might be playing in his one visible eye.

Glancing at Hatori from the corner of his eye, Shigure sighed. "This is a big day for Yuki and Kyou, and Tohru-kun as well. They've been a somber bunch these past few days."

Hatori thought back on the arresting cream-colored envelope that Shigure had given him after his visit with Akito. Shigure hadn't warned him of the contents, but Hatori had guessed well enough what was in the note, decorated on the front with an artistic representation of a dragon. A real dragon, he had bitterly thought at the time. The letter wasn't long, and as Hatori had expected it was in Kureno's handwriting. Akito rarely wrote anything out himself, instead using the Bird as his scribe, servant, slave: anything degrading. Hatori still remembered the message, word for word, even though he had only read it once.

__

My Dear Hatori, I invite you to a ceremony honoring Yuki and The Cat. Bring my Rat and that girl to me the night of their graduation. You won't be disappointed with the show that I have planned for us all.

Kureno, in his respectful way, had added a perfunctory 'Akito-sama' at the end, but Hatori knew that wasn't dictated to him. He knew Akito well enough to realize that the man demanded things even when he gave the illusion of asking. It wasn't an invitation, therefore, but a mandate, and it didn't require the courtesy of a signature.

"Ha-san, is everything okay?"

Without letting any expression except skepticism mar his face, Hatori looked over to meet Shigure's dark eyes. "I'm fine. And there's no use worrying about what's going to happen later. For one thing, we can't change Akito's mind once he's set on something, and for another we don't want to distress any of the younger ones. This is going to be harder on them than on us."

"I know that," Shigure said, "but it doesn't make me feel any happier about it. We're going to have to be there for them, no matter which way it goes, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to hold myself together. Have you considered Tohru?"

"Of course, but there's nothing to be done about that, either. It's going to hurt her."

Instead of responding right away, Shigure leaned his elbow on the door and focused his gaze out the window. He wasn't sure about how to bring up the subject to Hatori after he had seemed so shocked at the idea in the past. "What about the curse. How do you think this will affect our chances of breaking it?"

"That's the last thing on my mind today, Shigure." Hatori pursed his lips in annoyance.

"Well, not on mine. I've been thinking about it a lot, recently, and we've come to the conclusion that this could be the beginning."

"We?" asked Hatori, suddenly intensely interested in what Shigure was saying. "You and who else? What have you been planning?!"

Shigure knew that his friend was looking at him, but he kept his head aimed at the window. "I think maybe now is the time to tell you some things."

"No," Hatori snapped back, "now is the time to tell me everything!"

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Yuki sat at his desk, waiting for the final bell to ring. He couldn't be excited about school being over, not like his classmates. He almost hoped that the day would last forever, so he wouldn't have to face what would happen tonight. He wasn't particularly scared about losing to Kyou, since it had never happened before, but the fear of God, so to speak, had been instilled in him. He kept running the dream that he had the night before over in his head, but it got worse every time. 

Akito was in his dream, and Tohru, and Kyo, of course, and all of the others. They were laughing at him because he had lost his fight with the Cat, and now he was huddling in on himself, trying to shield his ears from their mocking laughter. He felt himself disappearing, falling into a void of nothingness….

That's when he had woken up, but the brief dream had made him anxious enough that he couldn't concentrate on anything else. Since receiving the letter from Akito, no one in the house had been very talkative or happy. Even Shigure had been pensive while he feigned his normal attitude. 

Yuki had been forced to think about what his letter had said for two days straight, all through finals, which he was sure that he had only barely passed. What the letter had said was awful, torturous, and it only made him wonder what Tohru's had said, since his was so blatantly personalized. She hadn't shared hers with anyone, probably for fear of worrying them, but she kept the invitation in her pocket, and he had seen her several times reading it when she didn't know he was there, her hands white and trembling as she clutched it like a lifeline. He couldn't even imagine what vile, manipulative words Akito had made Kureno write in that note to her. It made Yuki want to hurl Kureno through a wall for going along with it, though. He sighed to himself, knowing that the defenseless Bird didn't know any other way than to obey Akito, not after being weaned on the will of the clan head. The poor man never referred to Akito as anything but 'Akito-sama,' at least when those present knew of the curse.

"Yuki-kun? The bell rang. We're done now, except for the ceremony."

Yuki looked up into Tohru's lovely face and tried his best to smile. "Sorry, Honda-san. I guess I was lost in my own little world." He could see that Tohru was concerned, but he attempted to ignore it and smile more sincerely. They hadn't yet spoken about what would happen later, but they each knew that the other was aware. If he could hold onto what little he had left of life, he would be making the best of his day.

"It appears that our Tohru-kun has rubbed off on you," Hanajima said seriously. "She tends to let her mind wander, also."

"It's called being an airhead, Hanajima," Uo snickered.

Yuki realized that Tohru, her friends, and even Kyou were waiting for him to go to lunch before the ceremony. He quickly stood up and set his belongings in order. "You didn't have to wait for me. I have to skip lunch today to work on the preparations."

"I know," Tohru told him with a smile, "so I made you a lunch to take with you. Mom always said that you shouldn't work on an empty stomach!" He smiled at her gratefully as he took the lunch and watched them walk out of the classroom.

"Sohma? Are you all right?" Mayuko asked as she approached Yuki, who was still staring after Tohru.

Inclining his head, Yuki put his false smile back on. "I'm fine, Sensei, but I should get to the auditorium." He left before his teacher could ask him any more questions.

Mayuko shook her head and sighed, sitting back down in her desk chair. She was really going to miss the class that she had taught this year, despite the dramatics that had gone along with it. All of the students had made her life more interesting, even if it had meant dealing with Shigure from time to time. She supposed that she wouldn't escape him that easily, because two more Sohmas were going to be in her class the following her. She wondered how her aggravating ex-boyfriend had a way of staying in her life, and reminding her of the love that she had once had for Hatori. Hell, she was probably going to have to see both of them today, and Ayame, since it was the graduation ceremony. Laying her head on her arms, she tried to put her thoughts and feelings back in order.

------------------

Peering over her shoulder, Tohru could see the small crowd that had gathered to see her and Yuki and Kyou in the graduation ceremony. Ayame waved wildly, and Shigure comically blew her a kiss. Hatori was centered in between the two, and despite his obvious irritation with his two best friends, he managed to smile for Tohru's sake. Kazuma, Haru, Momiji, Rin, and Kagura had also come to see them off into the real world. 'Except that I don't know what that will be for us,' Tohru thought sadly to herself. All she knew was that tonight Akito had offered her a seat of honor at his side, and it numbed her mind to think of what that might mean. She didn't want to be scared of Akito, instead wanting to get through to him and find the good in him, but she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine when he came to her thoughts.

To Tohru's right, Uo lounged in her seat yawning, and Hana sat demurely on the other side of Uo. Tohru felt so comforted by their presence that she found it hard to think that anything bad could happen that night. This meant that Kyou was sitting directly to her right, but the Cat had been so distracted lately that Tohru didn't even think that he noticed his surroundings. She imagined him like a turtle in her mind, one that had curled himself into a ball inside of his thick shell, dwelling on this thoughts and not letting anything either in or out. She had tried the day before to ask him if he was all right, but he had ignored her question and left for the dojo. He normally wouldn't pull back from her so blatantly, and it made her worrying nature go into overdrive.

Placing her fret over Kyou to the back of her mind for safe-keeping, Tohru turned her attention to the front of the auditorium, where Yuki and the rest of the student council members were sitting, as they were instrumental in the graduation ceremony. Yuki had been a great friend and supporter over the past few years, and the past few weeks especially. Her hand unconsciously went to her bottom lip at the thought of their first kiss that they had shared only two days prior. She still felt a warm, tingling sensation whenever she thought about that moment, and although it had only happened that once, she knew that Yuki had found the incident special as well. She hoped above hope that whatever happened that night would turn out for the best when it came to her housemates and confidants.

Trying to get her mind back into the present, Tohru forced herself to listen to the principal's graduation speech. The whole ordeal had been rather short, and he was just concluding the speech, having already handed out the diplomas.

"…and so, in conclusion, I welcome the class 3-D of Kaibara High School into the real world. Good luck in any and all of your endeavors, and may you ever remember the lessons that you learned here, both academic and practical." Clapping loudly into the microphone, the principal stepped down from the podium and motioned for all of the seniors to stand.

"It's about time," Uo grumbled as she stood and stretched her arms above her head. "I think my ass fell asleep about an hour ago."

"Oi, you have such a dirty mouth, Yankee," Kyou told her, only without much conviction.

"Tohru-mutti!!!" Momiji latched himself onto her hand as he raced to her from the crowd. "Congratulations!"

"Well at least someone is in a good mood," Shigure interjected, joining the group with the rest of the Sohmas. He tried to keep an upbeat face for the sake of Tohru and her unknowing friends. "Kyou-kun looks like he's going to punch someone."

Kazuma glared at Shigure in obvious warning, but said nothing to the Dog. "Kyou, I think that we should go now. There are some things that we need to do before tonight." Kyou merely nodded and moved to stand by his Shishou, a resigned expression on his face. The usually angry Cat appeared to be almost melancholy.

"Do you really have to leave so soon?" Hana asked in a shockingly flirtatious manner. Uo shot a look in her direction, but she pretended not to notice. Instead she actually gave the man years her senior a withering stare. 'Withering!' Uo declared in her mind. She was beginning to worry about Saki's sanity, although that wasn't something new to her.

"I'm afraid we must. Hanajima-san, correct?" he asked as he smiled and inclined his head to the normally blank-faced girl. "I will see many of you later," he told them cryptically. "Perhaps we will meet again, young lady," he added, directly to Hana. Kyou tried to smack him in the arm, but Kazuma effortlessly diverted his blow and dragged him from the auditorium, Kyou talking heatedly to him the whole time.

Uo just shook her head. "I think Orangetop is really scared that you're going to be his step-mother, Hana. You should really cut that out."

"Mmm," was the only response she gave.

"I'm afraid we all must be leaving," Hatori cut in, eyeing all of his cousins. Everyone was beginning to branch off in his or her own direction, and most of them hadn't heard him. Haru and Ayame had left to talk to Yuki, and Rin and Kagura were chatting privately with Tohru, seemingly comforting her. Hatori hoped that they didn't make the girl worry more than she already was. 

"I don't think they heard you, Ha-san." Shigure looked down at Momiji, who was standing at his side, brown eyes wide and expectant. "Momichi, would you mind getting them for us. I think that we should have dinner soon and be on our way to the Honke." The little Rabbit nodded in answer and skipped off to pull on Kagura and Rin's arms, edging them back towards Shigure and Hatori. "I think it's best that we eat something at my house before going. There are a few hours left, and I know a good place where we can pick up to-go orders quickly."

Hatori was proud of his typically irresponsible friend. "That's an excellent idea. Why don't you go and get Ayame and Yuki and we'll pick up the food. The others can walk back."

Without answering the Dragon, Shigure sauntered over to his other friend's side. "Aya, we must be leaving now," he sang out. "You, too, Yuki." Ayame, who had been tightly hugging his unwilling brother, immediately let go and grabbed his hand instead, laughing as he led Yuki to the door. "Haru," Shigure said, once they were alone.

"Yes, Sensei?"

"Take Tohru and the others to my house. I think we're going to eat before heading over to the estate. It's going to be a long night, and we could all use a little rest and some re-energizing before seeing Akito."

Haru stepped a little closer to his cousin so he could lower his voice. "Sensei, what do you think this night brings. The invitations that Rin and Kagura and I got weren't very descriptive."

"I don't know, Haru," he said to the impassive Cow in a dark tone, "but I think that we should prepare ourselves for the worst. Just be sure that Tohru isn't frightened."

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A/N: This was maybe a little shorter than some of the previous chapters, but I think it's a good stopping place. Next chapter I promise will bring Akito back into the story. I hope you continue to read and review. It was very nice to see some new faces reviewing the last chapter, as well as continuous reviewers! Your comments really encouraged me to write faster this time, so I guess I'm asking you to please review again. It means a lot!

Thanks to:

Aiden Sadi: I promise that I'll continue writing the fic, no matter what. I have no intention of stopping. I want a Kyou plushie!

Zapenstap: Sorry I made you stay up so late, dear friend. I hope that you liked the Yuki bits in this chapter, too. ^_^

Veronica: Haha, I haven't read a fic with Yuki sounding dirty, but I can imagine that it would be disturbing. I hope he never appears that way in my fic! It's certainly not my intention.

bigwooshin: Thank you, and you should probably finish the series before reading too many fics. Unless you like spoilers!

DarkSov: Subtle? I kind of thought my writing hit people over the head with a mallet, so that's definitely a compliment. And I really appreciate the in-character thing. That's always a big struggle and what I ponder over the most when writing.

Merei-chan: It's always nice to see your familiar name pop up on my reviews!

Stephanie: It's okay if you can't review because of hw. I know that you're reading!

Zanattic: I really appreciate the criticism on the sentence structure. That's something that I know definitely needs improvement in my writing, although I would like to think that it's gotten better with more practice. As a science major, the only writing I ever get to do is boring lab write-up type stuff, so any compliments I get for creative writing are delightful. Hey, and you really hit the nail on the head with the envelopes. We'll be getting a little more of a Kyou balance shortly, so don't worry. And as for the Japanese words, I admittedly don't speak Japanese, and the words that I use are pretty common in fanfiction. Here's a list of the ones I can remember using (if there are any more you don't know, please feel free to ask):

-kun, -chan = friendly suffix on a name

-san = kind of like Mr. or Mrs.

-sensei = teacher, instructor. For some reason Haru calls Shigure that in the manga

oi = hey

-mutti = what Momiji calls Tohru (mother in German)

baka neko = stupid cat

kuso nezumi = damn rat

oneesan = sister (Kisa calls Tohru that)

oniisan = brother

ojiisan = uncle

Tencho = boss


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket. Still not mine last I checked. I've got a piggy bank that I'm saving money in, though. I'll buy it eventually! *_*

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Chapter 14:

Tohru, Momiji, Hatsuharu, Rin, and Kagura all walked in silence down the emptying streets. Nothing much had been said after Haru told them where they were walking to, even by Momiji. The Rabbit might be silly, but he was apt at sensing when people didn't want to hear his chatter. Instead he followed behind everyone, his mind focused on Tohru, who seemed to be even more worried than usual.

"Hey," Haru said, dragging everyone to a halt. "Maybe I should go pick up Kisa and Hiro. I'm not sure they should be alone in the Honke like this while we're all together." Kisa was special to him, like a younger sister, and he knew that she would be scared.

Rin nodded agreement, flipping her long hair back over one shoulder. "You're right, Haru. It's not right to leave them like this. They were probably expecting us all back by now." Hiro was almost as close to her as Kisa to Haru.

"You're not going to let _him_ go get them, are you?! He'll get lost!"

Haru glared at Kagura, feeling his nerves edging towards his Black side. She did something to him to bring it out almost every time he was around her. Taking a deep breath, he urged his mind back to the White. Going Black was utterly pointless and it wasn't going to make Kagura any saner. "Fine, why don't you go?"

Bouncing on her toes, Kagura laughed, making Haru's anger simmer in him again. She had been trying to go herself the whole time? He had no idea how Rin hadn't killed her yet, being forced to live with her.

"Come on, Tohru-kun! Let's go!" Kagura grabbed Tohru and began to drag the wide-eyed girl away down the street. "We'll have more girl talk time!"

"Stop! Kagura, I'm not letting you take Honda-san to the Honke. Are you crazy?!" Rage now boiled within him, breaking to the surface and possessing him with Blackness. "Do you even know what's going on, you idiot? This isn't the time to go talk about make up and pop stars, Kagura!" In two quick strides he was in front of her, standing above her with a fierce expression. "Life as we know it is going to change completely after tonight," he ground out through clenched teeth. "I don't know what's going to happen, but it's something big and Tohru is involved. How about we keep her as far away from Akito as we can for as long as we can, huh?"

Kagura's ever increasing temper was quashed at his last statement. She had been there the night Akito had attacked Tohru at the main house, had seen her arm hanging limply after Akito threw her into the wall and dislocated it. Eyes intent on her feet, the Boar hunched her shoulders apologetically and spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry, Haru-chan. I was only trying to make her forget about Yuki and Kyou and whatever is happening to them tonight." She looked around quickly, remembering that not every one of the Jyuunishi knew of the upcoming battle between Cat and Rat. Rin knew, and Haru, Kagura was certain, but she was still unsure as to how much Momiji or Tohru might have heard. But Tohru only looked at Kagura with comfort, and Momiji didn't seem to be paying too much attention. Finally, Kagura swept her gaze back to her cousin in front of her. "Haru-chan, I'm scared, too. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

Remaining silent, Haru simply placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder as if she were a lost child. "I know. Let's try to keep other people in mind, though, huh? We aren't the ones who will get the worst of what happens." He glanced over Kagura's head to smile at Rin, who standing behind Tohru. Momiji still stood on the sidewalk some paces back, knowing that this conversation was best left to his more capable cousins. "Momiji," he called, causing the boy to lift his head. "Why don't you go with Kagura to pick up Kisa and Hiro and meet us back at Shigure's? Rin and I will take Honda-san."

Momiji smiled and came to grab Kagura's hand. The diminutive girl was still standing still, ashamed of herself. "Come on, Kagura!" Kagura kept her head down as she walked off with him. "See you all in a little bit!" he called back.

"Well, that's settled. I'm not letting you or Kagura anywhere near each other in the future. You're both drama queens." Rin smirked at her boyfriend to emphasize her joking, but there was a hint of seriousness in her tone. "Let's get on our way now. It's freezing. Tohru?" Rin walked forward to where Tohru was still staring after Momiji and Kagura. She hadn't said one word yet. "Tohru?" Rin asked again. Coming around to stand in front of her new friend, she was surprised to see the expression on her face. "What's wrong?!"

"N-nothing. I'll be okay," Tohru assured her as she wiped the cool tears from her cheeks. She couldn't help it. Everything had been going so well for them, and her life had been so happy, and now all of the Sohmas were hurting because of this one night. "I don't understand," she simpered quietly, trying to hold back any more tears. "Why does he do this to his family?"

Haru raised his eyebrows at Rin when Tohru mentioned her concerns. He knew exactly whom she was talking about. "It's true that he does tend to do things to us that don't make much sense sometimes," he said, not taking his eyes from Rin's. "But there isn't anything we can do about it. Akito is Akito, and as much as we hate him, our curse makes us respect his ruling." Tohru didn't turn to face him, but she nodded at his words.

"Why don't you go on ahead, Haru?" Rin suggested, making it clear with her face that it was an order, not a request. Haru obliged and Rin waited until he was far enough away from them not to hear. "Tohru-kun, I think we should talk."

"Sure, what is it?"

Rin smiled at her when she realized that the tears had come to an end. "It's about Akito, and the curse. He's not going to do anything to endanger our lives," she lied, thinking of herself falling out of that window. "It's just that he controls us by using psychological tactics, like tonight. He wants us to be scared, and fear his wrath, but we can't really feel that way or he will win. Tohru, if we want to break the curse, we have to be one step ahead of him, because the thing that frightens him most is it breaking."

"But why?" Tohru inquired, shocked that Akito would want his relatives to suffer so.

"Because it's his control over us. Without that, he's nothing. That's the key, the key to breaking the curse. Or at least the start of it."

Tohru visibly started to comprehend what Rin was telling her. Akito felt that he was nothing without the curse, because he didn't know what it was like to use anything except control. "Okay, but what do we do?"

"Nothing! Just stay calm and try to stay out of his way tonight, whatever happens. This fight between Yuki and Kyou is disturbing, but they need to know that we're there for them or one of them might collapse under the pressure. I saw today that Kyou is already different."

"He is," moaned Tohru. "I'm so worried about him, and Yuki-kun, too. I can tell that they're preoccupied with tonight, but they don't want to talk about it."

In a friendly gesture, Rin wrapped an arm around Tohru's back. The poor girl needed all the help she could get. "Well, I'm sure they'll feel a lot better if they know that you are safe today. You can stay with Haru and me while it goes on." She almost stumbled when Tohru completely stopped walking to scrub at new tears. There was something different this time, though, and Tohru looked like she had seen a ghost.

"I can't," she whispered almost inaudibly. "Akito wants me to stay by his side tonight."

"Eh? Okay, Tohru-kun," Rin told her as she replaced her hand on Tohru's back. She tried to make her face pleasant, but a horrible seed of dread formed a knot in her stomach. She and Haru had gone over everything that might go wrong, but this could be much, much worse.

------------------

Yuki looked purposefully away from his older brother as he sat in the back seat of Hatori's car, on the way to pick up dinner. He had tried to get his hand back from his brother after leaving the auditorium, but to no avail. Ayame was incredibly strong when he had a mind to be, and right now he apparently wasn't going to let go. At least Yuki had learned to shut grating voices. That was a talent that had improved while living under Shigure's roof. The scenery outside the window slowed to a stop as Hatori parked the car in the lot behind the take-out place. It was one of Shigure's favorites and one of the restaurants they had frequented before the days of Tohru.

Clicking sounded in Yuki's ears as the two passengers in the front removed their seat belts. "Ha-san and I are going to get the food, Yuki-kun. We'll leave you and Aya in the car so it doesn't get stolen." Yuki just sighed as the doors slammed and he was literally locked up with Ayame.

"Yuki! Isn't it exciting to spend time with me? I know of hundreds of girls who would die to be in the back seat with the infamous Sohma brothers." Laughing wildly, Ayame scooted closer to Yuki, squishing him against the door and making him feel even more trapped.

"We aren't the 'infamous Sohma brothers,' and anyone who would want to be in a confined place with you is a lunatic," Yuki growled. The last thing on Earth he wanted was to spend the day with his brother. He tried and tried, but he never got anywhere with the idiot. All Ayame succeeded in doing was making his mood worse.

But no amount of sarcasm or venom drove Ayame away. Yuki had to admit that he was persistent. "Oh, Little Brother, you and I were the talk of the town at your graduation. Many girls in the audience came up to me, to acknowledge my devastating good looks, but I insisted that I wouldn't have anything to do with them unless I could share with my dear younger brother." He paused to laugh at Yuki's horrified face. "They took one look at you and were more than happy to comply with my requests. We have three dates this weekend alone."

In a hushed tone, Yuki angrily spat out a warning. "You're unbelievable! No decent person would take advantage of women like that."

"They wanted us to take advantage of them! One of them even told me that directly. It's my genes, naturally, which I passed down to you. Women can't control their romantic urges when they're in our presence. It's almost as much of a curse as the Jyuunishi," he continued dramatically. "Fighting women off takes so much of my energy that I find myself too tired to spend enough time on my designs."

Yuki snatched his hand back in a sudden gesture and narrowed his eyes. "You didn't pass any genes down to me. It's physically impossible, since you inherit traits from your parents. And next time you want to be romantic with women, leave me out of it! I have enough to keep myself occupied right now." His sentence was punctuated by Shigure and Hatori opening the car doors and clamoring back inside with boxes of take-out. 

"Oh, did you two have a nice talk?" Shigure asked them, leering from the passenger seat. He passed back an armload of take-out boxes for Yuki to hold on his lap. "We could go back inside if you aren't done." All he received was a glare from his younger cousin. Shigure knew that leaving them alone in the car probably wasn't the best idea, but he wanted the brothers to get some time together, for both of their sakes. All week Yuki had been far too removed from his normal self and the Dog worried that he wouldn't be emotionally ready for the fight. Both Yuki and Kyou had too much riding on one simple duel.

"You're not going back inside!" Yuki threatened.

Ayame took his opportunity of Yuki's hands being full to embrace his neck. "Why not, Little Brother? We were having so much fun!"

"Ayame!" Hatori's stern voice broke through the mounting tension in the car. The Snake regretfully let go of Yuki and slid back to his own seat, and Shigure turned around to face front. Grimacing slightly, Hatori settled in and turned the car back on. "You're both going to behave tonight, or there'll be hell to pay from me." It was uncharacteristic to hear the doctor in such a bad temper, but it made them listen all the more closely. "We only have a little over an hour to eat and be in his chambers. Let's not get side-tracked now!"

Languidly, Yuki let himself relax back as he stared back out the window. He mentally thanked Hatori for giving him respite, no matter how short it would be. Even though it was still quite cold outside, he rolled down his window and stuck his hand out to catch the breeze. Freedom was beautiful.

-----------------

Fiery orange hair whipped about in Kyou's eyes as he followed his Shishou away from the dojo. It was only a short walk from there to the main house, but tonight Kyou wanted it to last forever. He knew in his heart that it would be the last time he would walk outside, and he didn't even want to think about that. A lifetime of imprisonment was ahead of him, and it was the worst torture he could think of. He loved the outdoors, and practicing, and seeing the stars from the roof. Frowning, he figured that he would be lucky if his cell had a window or was big enough to do stances in. 

He and Kazuma had spent the past two hours together, trying to prepare Kyou in every way possible to win. His adoptive father had even thought ahead of time, making sure that he knew how to prepare dinner so Kyou wouldn't have to take over. Afterwards they had gone to the small clearing near the building where Kazuma brought students to meditate. Kyou felt refreshed, but his mind wasn't clear like it was supposed to be from the exercise. 

"Kyou," Kazuma instructed with his back still to his son, "you must keep your mind supple and lithe like your body. Even when in the best physical shape, a combatant with a troubled mind will not defeat his enemy."

"I know that!" Kyou snapped at the phrase he had heard a million times prior. "It's not exactly easy to keep my mind clear right now, Shishou!"

Kazuma looked back over his shoulder sagely. "Yes, my son, I know that you have memorized what I said, but do you heed the words? Think, Kyou! Your mind must be one step ahead of your opponent's at all times. You cannot do that if your thoughts are clouded with rage."

Sighing, Kyou tried to release the anger forming in his psyche. He wasn't even his normal self lately, feeling more depressed than angry, and yet trying to hide it by avoiding everyone. Hiding wouldn't work anymore, though, because everything rested on what would happen in a few minutes. They had reached the gates of the Honke and were making their way inside, crossing the barren plaza. "Shishou," he said from his brooding state. "Why is it that you want me to beat Yuki so badly? Don't you care about him as a student?"

"Of course I do, but his fate is not determined by this battle. You have a chance here to alter the tradition that has confined the spirit of the Cat for centuries. Never forget that, Kyou. Keep it in your mind as you fight, as a beacon of a goal."

"Yeah," Kyou answered by rote, thinking about what Kazuma had said. He would keep his cool no matter what happened in the fight, no matter what Akito said. Making a fist, he dug his nails into his palms. 'I will win!' he chanted to himself. 'I will stay calm and win this!'

By now they stood out side Akito's audience chamber, where all of the Jyuunishi plus Akito and Tohru waited for him, although he could hear no sound from behind the shoji screen. Kazuma turned to give him one last meaningful look before sliding the door open gently and letting Kyou go in before him. 

Immediately Kyou saw the back row of on-lookers, kneeling on the floor. Haru and Rin were separated by Momiji and Kagura, and on either side that foursome was Hiro and Kisa. Kyou suspected that it was to keep up the appearances that there was no more romanticism happening there, and he didn't blame them. Ritsu sat next to Kisa, his lips moving soundlessly in either prayer or apology; Kyou couldn't tell. Surprisingly, Kureno sat in the far back corner, as far away from his usual place next to Akito as possible. It made Kyou wonder if he had curried some ill favor with Akito.

Taking another step into the dark room, Kyou saw his three oldest cousins, making almost a shield as they knelt in between Akito's place and the others. Hatori sat in the middle, of course, slightly ahead of the other two, although Kyou wasn't sure exactly how much protection any of them had to offer, or whether or not it would be necessary. Next came Yuki, standing in front, emotions hidden behind a serene mask. Kyou felt no hatred looking at him, though, only determination. He would finally beat the Rat! He would do anything to be with…. Where was-?

Kyou swiveled his head to the front of the room slowly, fear growing with every second. When he finally laid his eyes on her, he didn't know how to react. Akito had palmed Tohru's head with one desperate claw-like hand, keeping her stare right where the fight would take place. Her eyes were what caught his attention, though. They were round and shimmering with panic, and they seemed to plead with him for something. Kyou didn't know how the kuso nezumi let her stay up there like that with him! A breathy snarl escaped as he tensed his body to leap at Akito's and wrestle Tohru from his clutches, but Kazuma's fierce whisper stopped him. 

"No, Kyou! Don't be rash! Now is the time to stay calm, to focus on the fight, or the outcome will be worse than you can imagine."

"Quiet!" came Akito's raspy tone. A sneer marred his face as he glared at Kazuma. "Your words mean nothing, now. Kneel and be silent!" Akito waited as Kazuma lowered himself to the floor next to Shigure. "Good. Come, Monster, come and face the Rat," he chuckled, pointing to a spot across from Yuki.

"Now," Akito continued when everyone was situated, Kyou and Yuki locked in a deathly staring match. "Let me explain the rules."

-----------------

A/N: Okay, I'm really mean, huh? Yes I _am_ just going to end it there. You'll have to wait until next time to see who wins. I'm not telling! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it was one of the ones I've been looking forward to most. The next one is going to blow you all away, I promise. It's really the scene that got this whole fic idea started in my head in the first place, so I'm planning on it being good! I'm not sure exactly when I'll have the time to get it as perfect as I want, but I'll try my best.

All reviews are kindly received and cherished, so anything you might say is worth it to me! Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, and as for the last chapter:

Merei-chan: Thank you as always, and I'll have to check out your fics sometime soon! I haven't been reading much fanfiction myself lately because of school, but I'd sure like to be!

veronica: Ah, sorry about the stress. It's not going to let up for a while in my fic, though! ^_^

Zapenstap: Yes, your reviews didn't go through quite right, but that's ok. I liked the Kyou turtle analogy, too. It just kind of came to me as I wrote. I thought it was going to be cheesy!

Mercedes no Inuarai: Thank you for the characterization comment! That's always my favorite praise! And as for leaving out the Akito and Tohru scene from the anime, it's because the end of the anime is slightly different from the manga, and that scene is actually something they made up for the sake of concluding the anime. Therefore, I'm ignoring it.

Aiden Sadi: Haha, thank you for the plushie advice. I'm already an ebay addict, so I'll keep my eyes open for more furuba goodies.

DarkSov: Yes, you really DO have to read the manga. Not only is it important in my story (although you could probably catch to my plot without it and I'd be happy to answer any questions or give you links to info if you emailed me), but it's really good, as well! A must for all Fruits Basket lovers! 

animelubber: Wow, that's an awesome promise! I would love to hear from reviewers every chapter!

Lasaire: Oh, you might want to wait around for a bit. This is definitely a triangle fic, not a Yukiru…. And I'm sorry if you're dying of more suspense right now! This is a huge cliffhanger, I know.

Zanattic: You are so my favorite reviewer right now! Your comments are so incredible and I look forward to more in the future ^_~. I wish I were as talented as Takaya-sensei, so to be compared to her is flattering. Getting all those characters down right can be tiring work. As for the story, I'm not saying a word about what's going to happen! :X You just have to wait and see, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. Oh, and I thought of some more Japanese words for you. I should really put a glossary on chapters:

-sama = suffix on a name to indicate something like a god or king or queen or the like

Jyuunishi = collective term for the Zodiac members

Shishou = master (what Kyou calls Kazuma)


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: It's Thanksgiving; I'm supposed to be thankful, so, um, I'm thankful that I don't own Fruits Basket because then I'd have a bunch of screaming fans chasing me all over to ask if they can borrow their favorite character, right? Right? Humor me here.

A/N: Okay, prepare yourselves for the chapter to blow all those previous away!

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Chapter 15:

Spring was just beginning to seep through the Earth, pushing up new growth and greenery with its persistent awakening. The early evening sun dappled through the various gardens and fences in the Sohma family main house, illuminating spots on the ground like a pirate's treasure of gold coins had spilled out from the sky. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, one of the loveliest times of year at the huge Honke. A casual passerby never would know the tension that hung over the largest building, though, even if it was almost tangible.

Inside that large building there was an audience chamber, frequented by few, but dreaded by many. The wrath of the Sohma family clan head was not unheard of, even to those that knew nothing of the curse. Indeed, Sohma Akito was a name spoken softly, in a fearful reverence; respect was necessary, but so was caution. It was there in that chamber where he spent his days that fifteen people awaited…something.

Thirteen of them were cursed, young by the normal standards. Their curse seemed simple, but in fact it was the skeleton in the Sohma closet, and only those who experienced it through themselves or those close by were fully aware of the price that was paid. Love, care, normal human touch, they were all stunted and warped by the curse. Transforming into a Zodiac animal was only one small part, not the majority as most would assume. No, animals were nothing compared to the pain and abandonment they all endured. 

Their God, this Akito, perhaps suffered most of all, perhaps not. Whatever the case, it was he who demanded their attention, he and the young girl that he held prisoner at his side, the young girl that had awoken something in all of them: love. How such a tiny, simple person could change them all so much they had no idea, but they all had a constricting band on their hearts while her wellbeing was in their masters hands. Two of them, the two standing in front, facing each other with an age-old rivalry, were most daunted by any threat to her. They loved her above all else, a deep, impenetrable love that Akito would delight in maiming.

---------------------

Out of the corner of Yuki's eye, he saw Tohru shaking at Akito's side. His loathing for the Cat was completely gone with worry for what Akito would do to her. It seemed like eons had passed from the time Kyou had taken his place opposite him, and still he waited for Akito to make his declaration. Not a sound penetrated the thick atmosphere of the room, as if time itself had stopped at the will of the Jyuunishi God.

"This wretched girl amuses you both, does she?" Akito's dry voice cracked through the air like a whip to their hearts. "Apparently you all find something desirable in this brainless, repulsive little tramp, even if you won't admit it, so I'm going to employ her to make this fight more interesting." 

Using her hair as leverage to drag her to her feet, Akito wrapped his hand around the back of Tohru's neck and held her still. The look in her eyes went from scared to mortified in an instant, and tears ran freely down her cheeks. Akito jerked her body towards him and placed his other hand hovering in front of her throat. "We'll see just how precious she is to you when I'm suffocating the life out of her," he sneered, a maniacal laugh escaping his lips. "If you don't end the fight quickly enough, neither of you will claim her."

Yuki felt all of his breath leave him. His eyes went wide and his stomach twisted into a knot watching her visible struggle to stay upright. And there was nothing he could do. He wanted to run to her and take her from Akito and tell her that he would never let anyone harm her ever again, but the crazed look that he knew too well from childhood was plastered on Akito's face. All Yuki could do was remind himself that he could beat the Cat quickly, as usual, and everything would be fine, he would rescue her. He would win for Tohru.

Kyou's skipped a breath when Akito's foul touch made her tears fall. She was scared, it was obvious, and he dared not fail her this time. He was going to win the fight not for himself but for her. If he could win he could shield her from Akito's tainted aspirations, because he would be a true member of the family, one with a voice that mattered and that could have his own life and his freedom and could protect Tohru forever. Instead of uncontrollable rage, he felt his mind meld with his body and become focused, just like Kazuma had said.

"You may begin," Akito ordered, and laid his thin fingers on Tohru's neck.

Kyou and Yuki battled fiercely in the space made between Akito and Tohru and the rest of the Jyuunishi, all watching as if made of stone. The fight was intense, fists landing with hard thuds onto bones and flesh. They both fought with all of their potency, racing the clock to smote the opponent and save Tohru. Thoughts sped through both of their minds, memories of Tohru and happier days, driving them into a more heated battle that still had neither of them winning.

__

Yellow ribbons fluttered on each side of Tohru's head, framing her smiling, blushing face. Yuki loved that smile….

"You've got one, too…a plum." Kyou couldn't find the words to express any more clearly that she was special to him….

She had no idea how something as trivial as asking him to play badminton with her made him feel so warm inside, like he had found a home….

'Idiot!' he thought, following her into the sea. She would drown if she kept that up, when she didn't even know how to hold her breath….

"Yuki-kun." The name was simple, but it made him transform, because it was so tender coming from her, his Princess….

Tohru's happiness was so contagious that day, at his Shishou's house. He couldn't help but join in her laughter as they prepared lunch….

Yuki leaned down and kissed her, wishing that the moment could last forever….

Tohru's soft kiss on his cheek made his sake-riddled head cry out in enthusiasm….

An especially strong kick to Kyou's ribs made the Cat stagger back a bit, just long enough for Yuki to risk a glance at Tohru. Her eyes had rolled back in her head and her lips were tinted blue. The sight alarmed him, and made his dreaming mind come back to reality. They were getting nowhere and Tohru was already losing the fight against time. Her breath came, but it was haggard and irregular. Yuki knew that there was only one thing to do. He was resigned to the fate that awaited him and he lowered his guard when the Cat rushed him again, one last time.

Kyou let out a warcry and sprung from his stance to lay his fist hard into Yuki's chest. It was a move he had tried hundreds of times before, in many fights, but it had never worked. He prepared for the deflecting block that didn't come. Kyou was puzzled as Yuki actually leaned _into_ the blow, causing Kyou to strike with all his might into Yuki's sternum. He watched the Rat fall backwards, unconscious on the floor, all the while wondering how in the hell he had actually beaten his foe. 

"You have done well, …Jyuunishi Kyou," Akito grated out from behind him.

Kyou's shock became dismay as he turned to look at Akito. The insanely enraged God dropped his hold on Tohru and quickly composed himself, whisking his hands together like he was ridding himself of filth. Tohru collapsed into a heap, her head banging onto the floor tiles. 

Kyou, feet seemingly planted to the ground, swiveled his head back and forth between his once rival and his one love, both lifeless on either end of the room. He paused on Yuki, stunned at the fact that his only feeling for the Rat was concern. Yuki's chest rose and fell fitfully, but at least he breathed. Hatsuharu and Ayame were already at his side, the latter cradling the grey head in his arms.

Turning back to Tohru, Kyou was overcome by an increasing dread. 'Oh, gods,' he thought, 'She's not breathing.' But his fear of Akito, standing over the girl with an impish smirk, transfixed him. He didn't know what to do. If he went to her, Akito would probably stab at his weakness and stomp the remaining life out of her. Even if he was accepted as a rightful Sohma now, his God still looked at him with unabashed hatred. 

He opened his mouth to shout something, anything, but before he could Kureno launched himself into Akito, toppling the slight villain. Kyou hadn't even seen him moving from his corner. Akito tried to grapple with the much taller man, but Kureno apparently had some secret strength, and he used it to pin Akito against the wall and clamp his hand over his mouth, ignoring Akito's pathetic kicks and spasms. Despite his actions, Kureno mumbled apologies to Akito and looked as though he was doing penance for murder, his brows drawn and his eyes sad. Kyou didn't care if Kureno killed him.

Running to Tohru's side, he knelt and looked over her body, motionless on the floor. 'No! Not now! This can't be happening!' he shouted frantically in his skull, lightly caressing the tear-damp face and brushing her bangs from her forehead. His heart died seeing her there like that, knowing it had all been his fault for not allowing some stupid fight to end quickly enough for her.

Shigure, coming up behind the trembling redhead, grasped his shoulders and firmly pulled him away from Tohru so that Hatori could examine her. The Dog grimaced as Kyou twisted in his hands, but the boy was spent of energy and distraught and didn't make a move against him. Everyone looked as bad off as Kyou, but they watched the doctor with hope. Kisa was clinging Hiro, even though Akito was in the room, and Ritsu and Momiji stood expectantly near them. Rin and Kagura were holding hands off to one side, and Kureno still restrained Akito. He didn't want to look at where Haru and Ayame were dealing with Yuki, not yet. One victim at a time, and Tohru was much worse.

Mournfully, Hatori put his ear to Tohru's chest, expecting to hear no sound. To his utter surprise, a faint life beat was detected, slow and erratic. Rapidly moving his face up to hers, he tilted her head back, pinched off her nose, and rested his lips on hers, blowing air back into her tortured throat.

Kyou, uncomprehending, yelled, "What are you doing?! Get away from her!" He reached out to yank Hatori off of his Tohru, but Momiji staid him with a firm grip on his wrist. Kyou wondered when they had all come up to the front, but then he looked around to see all of his cousins clustered behind him. Even Haru and Ayame stood on either side of Yuki, fully supporting their newly awakened charge. A look of sheer hopelessness tarnished his pale, princely face. "It's all right, Kyou," Momiji said, causing his head to whip back around to Momiji's ever cheerful smile. "I've seen Ha'ri do this before. He's making her breathe again!" Kyou suddenly remembered taking CPR in school and mentally kicked himself for not realizing. 

The technique seemed to be working; Hatori sat up and sighed. Without taking his eyes off of Tohru, he said, "She's breathing on her own now, but we're still not in the clear. I must take her to the hospital, where she'll need to be observed. She may not fully recover form this. We won't know until she wakes up, most likely in a day or-"

He cut off as Tohru stirred beneath his touch. All eyes turned to her as she moaned and lifted her head slowly. "Huh? Oh!" She winced and put her hand to her throat to feel at the welt forming there. "What happened? Kyou-kun? Yuki-kun?" Her eyes grew round and bright as she groggily remembered witnessing their horrible battle. Choking, she recalled the pain of Akito's hold on her. Before she could say another word, Kyou lunged forward, carefully taking her shoulders to support her weight. Yuki was only a second behind, having shaken Haru and Ayame. 

"Honda-san, you must not exert yourself!" Yuki slid his hand behind her head to cradle it, not even glaring at the Cat opposite him. They weren't really rivals anymore, he figured.

Kyou was silent, but as usual his eyes were vivid with emotion. Tohru could tell by looking at him that he was worried. With the huge purpling bruise on his jaw, she felt like she should worry about him instead. "Kyou-kun, you're hurt." Kyou waved her hand away, though, as she reached up to him.

"Oi, Tohru, don't worry about me. You're the one who is hurt. Lay down." His tone was soothing and concerned, not harsh at all.

"Yuki-kun, you're hurt, too!" she exclaimed, looking back to her other side. She hadn't seen his final injury, but he had taken a nasty hit on his cheekbone that had abraded the skin. Unlike Kyou, Yuki let her hand whisper over the wound, her touch magical and sad at the same time. When he couldn't stand it anymore he pulled at her hand to kiss the back of it and then he let go of her and rose, regarding her regretfully with his gaze.

Behind him, he heard the rustling of silken robes. Akito stood there, having been released by Kureno at last. Everyone watched warily as he struck the Bird across the face and turned calmly to the rest of them. He didn't look angry or fanatical at all, but smug. 

"I thought better of you, my little Rat." His movements were dramatic and foreboding, gesturing curtly with his hands and making eye contact with each and every one of them. When his glare passed over, his message was specific, a different hate for each. "I thought you would beat the disgusting Monster like you always do and I would get to lock him up and torture him, just like that man's pitiful grandfather was treated," he said, pointing blindly at Kazuma, who knelt stock still in his same place; he hadn't moved or spoken at all. 

"Then you could have come to be at my side, my own special pet Rat, and I would have favored you like your curse deserves. The Rat was first to the feast after all. Even then he was clever, though, was he not? He rode on the back of the stupid Cow. Always a trickster, just like you are. Don't think that I didn't see the move you pulled, Yuki." That last came with a livid sneer. "I suppose you did it for that wench, but you knew the price of losing before today. Why don't you share it with the rest of us?" Finishing, he folded his arms inside his yukata and tilted his head, an almost sickeningly sweet, patronizing smile on his face.

"I-I…." Closing his eyes, Yuki started over. "Because I lost I will trade places with the Cat. He will be accepted as a member of the twelve original Jyuunishi and I will take the responsibility of his position." He sighed and opened his eyes then, looking down at the two people at his feet. Kyou looked shocked and angry. Tohru looked confused. "Kyou will receive the freedom that the Rat is granted and I will be locked up in his stead."

An echo of gasps chorused around the room. Tohru's eyes filled with tears and Yuki couldn't stand to see it anymore, so he surveyed the rest of the group. Even Kyou's mouth dropped open, and Ritsu's. Momiji was sobbing, Hatori only sad around his visible eye. Kagura was distraught, Rin nodding in acceptance, Kisa biting her lip and Hiro frowning. Kureno looked somber as usual. Ayame was uncharacteristically stoic, while Haru was on the verge of turning Black. Shigure looked…Shigure looked thoughtful. There was a light of excitement behind his eyes, but when Yuki noticed it, it went away, and he shrugged it off to his imagination.

"If you are done with your little speech, then you can leave. Kureno!" he mandated. "Take him to the room, and then come back here so I can deal with you!" Kureno bowed his head and came to stand next to Yuki, hand on his shoulder. "The rest of you will leave! I am tired of looking at you!" He was furious now, his mood having changed in an instant. 

They all collected themselves and moved through the doorway, except Shigure, Kyou, and Tohru. Kyou was helping Tohru to her feet, but he glanced up at Yuki questioningly. He didn't like what was going on at all. Some sort of recognition passed between them and he left Tohru's side so that Yuki could say good bye. It was only fair, after the Rat had let him win. Shigure leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Kyou, go with the others. I will bring Tohru out." Kyou nodded and left them, taking one last look back as Yuki knelt at Tohru's side.

"Yuki-kun?" Tohru said in her small voice.

Yuki smiled warmly and sat down beside her. "Gomen nasai, Honda-san. I didn't mean for you to find out like this. Please, don't be sad for me. I'm sure that you can find happiness in life, and I will be content knowing that you do. I will think of you always, because I love you." At the last, Yuki leaned down and placed a kiss on Tohru's delicate lips. Tears were stinging his eyes when he arose and felt Kureno's hand on his shoulder again. "Take care, Honda-san, and know that you will forever have someone who loves you."

"Yuki-kun!" Tohru cried out, but Yuki was already being led from the room, head down. Tohru struggled to her feet and tried to go after him, but Shigure caught her and brought her in so he could hold her at his side. 

"Now is not the time," he said in a barely audible voice, keeping his eyes on Akito, who was leering after Yuki. "We have to leave now." While Akito was still preoccupied, Shigure escorted a weeping Tohru out of the room and into the arms of Kyou, who was waiting for them.

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A/N: I hoped everyone enjoyed that chapter. I know that it was my favorite to write so far! There will be more to come. Don't despair yet! Reviews on this chapter are especially welcome!

Thank you to so much to those who have been reviewing! I would write you individual notes as usual, but it's Thanksgiving and I must go gorge myself on turkey and cranberries! ^_^

Did I mention that I love reviewers? 


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Again, it's not mine. 

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Chapter 16:

Tohru wasn't even thinking clearly when she found herself wrapped in Kyou's arms, just far enough away from his body to prohibit his transformation. Her throat stung and her head throbbed from smacking into the floor tiles, but she couldn't even remember any of her physical hurts. The only thing on her mind was what had happened to Yuki. He was gone, just like that, no warning, no nothing. Tohru knew that she would have been just as upset if Kyou was locked away as was Akito's original plan, but she thought that there would have been some good possible outcome. She thought that if Kyou had won than everyone would have been okay, Yuki and Kyou would have been treated differently.

But she was wrong. Akito still wouldn't accept Kyou as a member of the family and Yuki was back in his cage. Tohru couldn't even stop the horrible streaming tears that ran down her cheeks. She had tried so hard to make everyone happy but they were all even more miserable, and she couldn't help but feel that it was her fault. If it weren't for Kyou's firm grip on her shoulders she would have slumped over like a ragdoll and wept herself to exhaustion.

"Hey," a voice intoned next to her ear. "We need to get out of here. I don't want him to change his mind and taking you back in there. Let's go home." Kyou's deep crimson eyes were intent yet kind. He knew that she was shaken to her core and frankly so was he. If they could go home and get some rest then she could heal and he could think about what they had to do. 

Tohru's nod gave him permission to lead her back down the hall towards the exit, holding her at his side and perhaps handling her too gently. She seemed to be walking fine, but that nasty welt on her neck was all he could look at. Fingerprints were emblazoned on her as if Akito's fingers branded her as his own. Kyou did his best to return her timid smile. Anything to keep her from worrying too much.

"I'll drive you all home." Hatori fell in beside Kyou and Tohru as they passed him. All of the Jyuunishi were lining the walls of the long corridor, as if they weren't sure if Akito's orders to leave had meant just his audience chamber or the building as well. The way they hovered and stared was irritating Kyou to no end. They had all just watched and done nothing when Akito was strangling her.

Kyou merely frowned and continued to walk down the hall. Not surprisingly, Hatori picked up on his anger and began walking with Shigure behind him, whispering about something. Putting the secretive older men out of his mind, Kyou went back to glaring at his other cousins. They all had identical looks of confusion, as if they wanted to say something but didn't know what exactly. They were best ignored.

At the end of the hallway stood Kazuma, looking much different than the people around him. He was solemn, not startled, arms crossed and looking straight ahead. He didn't say anything when Kyou and Tohru passed him on the way out, he just shot Kyou a pregnant stare. Kyou wasn't sure what that meant, precisely, but he held his head higher and tried to remove the worry from his face. His Shishou was fond of giving that look to him when as a child he had moped around or not focused enough.

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Hatsuharu held Rin's hand tightly as they strode across the Sohma estate to a familiar location. After Kyou and Tohru had left in Hatori's car with Shigure everyone had silently split up and gone their separate ways, some in groups and some individually. Well, Kazuma was the only one who had really left by himself. Ayame had tried to but Ritsu had followed him out like a lost puppy. Hiro and Kisa had left together before Haru could grab them. The rest were with him.

Now he led a tiny group to an old tree on the corner of a large field. It was a spot that they had congregated at as children to discuss things, under the guise of playing in the field. Kyou had been a member of that secret group also, the group that knew of the tree. Yuki of course hadn't because he was kept so secluded from all of them after his mother had given him to Akito as a plaything. The other two members of the tree club were behind he and Rin.

"Kagura, it's okay, we'll find a way to get Yuki out," Momiji said comfortingly, patting the crying girl on the back. The moment they had gotten outside she had started sobbing, and Momiji had been trying unsuccessfully to get her to stop, but she hadn't even told them why yet.

Haru leaned back against the tree and pulled Rin into his arms. There was no chance of being spotted too close together here, and Rin was making him fret with her pensive silence. "Kagura-nee, crying isn't helping." At his firm words she wiped the tears from his eyes and lowered his head ashamedly. "Let's think about this for a minute."

Scuffing his shoes in the hard dirt, Momiji waited for Haru to continue. Ever since they were small children they had listened to the Ox. He had a way of protecting them that they all found calming. As children and as adolescents they had to rely on him for support when the older cousins weren't around; Kagura was too emotional, Rin too quiet, Kyou too temperamental, and he himself not taken seriously enough. He wanted his cousins to believe him more of a silly little kid so he spoke up. "Haru, we really just need to be there for Tohru right now. She's going to be sad about Yuki, but we can't be sad, too. She hides her grief too much. If we're sad, too, then she'll be depressed. Let's just be happy around her, and not act like there's something wrong."

Nodding, Haru smiled at his shorter cousin. Rin was looking at him with a subtle encouragement and Kagura even had a light in her watery eyes. "Yeah, you're right. She is good at pretending everything is okay when it's not. If we're all overbearingly cautious around her she's just going to think that we're upset and she'll worry even more."

"It's not good for her to do that. It will wreak havoc on her health."

He knew Rin was speaking from experience with those words. "Exactly." Haru rubbed her back and smiled at her to let her know he understood. "What do you guys think if we visit her in a couple days. Nothing extravagant or anything, just for dinner or something."

Now Kagura was smiling. "Yes," she said excitedly as she pulled her fists up under her chin. "We'll go for dinner and to see if she's all right, but we won't treat her like a baby."

"Maybe we can play a game or something and bring her ice cream," Momiji laughed, joining in her exuberance. 

Haru looked down into Rin's eyes and smiled. He was broken up inside about Yuki locked away in that cage that had haunted him since childhood, but his pain would be felt by himself alone. Everyone else that he was close to deserved to be happy. As usual, Haru would be upset on his own time. Somehow he would think of a way to get his dearest friend out of Akito's prison, and then he would take Yuki under his wing like he had Rin and he wouldn't let anything hurt them ever again.

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Filling up his own cup with tea and then offering one to his guest, Ayame leaned back in the plush couch at his shop. He wasn't sure why he had allowed Ritsu to follow him to his shop, but he just couldn't turn the fidgeting man down. Ritsu hadn't said anything at all after Ayame told him he was free to come back to his shop for tea, but he knew that the invitation had settled the other man's nerves some. Perhaps it had settled his a bit, too. It was nice to know that someone admired him.

"Aya-niisan," the nervous Monkey stammered, "I know that I don't have much to do with the family, because I'm such a burden on all of you, but I wanted you to know that I'm very, very sorry for your brother. He was a nice person, and he was always kind to me even though I didn't deserve it and-"

"Is," Ayame corrected, cutting his younger cousin off. "He is still a nice person. The best type of person, really, smart and kind and wonderful." He looked into his teacup and spoke in a subdued tone. "I'm sure he will come out of this as strong as ever." 

Ayame felt as though he had failed his dear younger brother. He had vowed that he would never abandon Yuki again, yet here he was sitting casually in his own store while Yuki rotted away in Akito's cage. He felt as though everything he had worked for with his brother was meaningless all because he had watched idly while Yuki was taken away again. Even so, he knew in his heart that Yuki would be fine just like he normally was and he would get out of everything soon. Above all else Ayame believed in Yuki.

"I'm very sorry, Aya-niisan! I didn't mean it like that! I'm such a fool! Please forgive me!"

Laughing, Ayame set down his cup and stood. "Don't worry yourself so much. Would you like to look at some of our new line? There's an aubergine that would set off your skin tone nicely. And you simply must tell me about your new relationship with Mit-chan. Shigure won't give me any of the romantic details, although I'm sure he's heard some from her. No, no, don't look like that, I think she is a trustworthy woman, but if we are to find her a garment to fulfill all of your male fantasies then you must divulge some information. Does she like blue? She would look absolutely glowing in a royal blue with soft key lime accents. How about a nurse uniform? No, that's far too cliché for a fashionable man like yourself to fully enjoy. I have just the thing! A naughty businesswoman! All work by day but by night a vixen when she slips out of her suit to reveal the most delectable garter and corset set! Yes! Mine-chan! Come out here and let's discuss an outfit for my dear cousin, Ritsu to give to his new sexual conquest!"

Ritsu's eyes got wider and wider as Ayame threw himself completely into a tirade about a present for Mii. His cheeks were hot and his breath was short just thinking about half of the things he suggested. When Mine came out of the back room in something that he couldn't describe as clothing all he could do was faint.

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"Do you think Oneechan is okay?"

Hiro was surprised to finally hear Kisa speak. She hadn't said one word or even looked at him since everything had happened. She had just followed him to his house and up into his bedroom where they say on his floor and he waited for something to happen. She still hadn't looked at him but had her knees drawn up and her head down on them, hair shielding her beautiful tiger-eyes from his view. "Hatori said she would be."

Kisa rolled her head to the side finally and looked at him sideways. "But she was so hurt. And Yuki Oniichan got taken away. What's going to happen to him?"

Frankly, Hiro could care less. As long as Kisa was safe nothing else mattered to him, but he knew that she wasn't going to be happy until she felt reassured, and her happiness was almost as vital as her safety to him. "She got up and walked away, so she's fine, like I said. If you want we can go visit her sometime this week." At Kisa's smile he was glad that he had refrained from calling her some insulting name and just stuck with 'her.' "Yuki can take care of himself. He won't be in there forever. You know Akito likes him."

"But, Hiro-chan, Akito sounded so angry with him. What if he does bad things to him?" She had fully lifted her head now and he could hear the frenzy in her tone. Kisa was always concerning herself with everyone else.

"I'm sure that he will get out eventually. We…we just have to let the others deal with that." The last came out bitterly. He hated admitting when he was helpless to do something, but in this case he really was. There wasn't anything a couple of middle schoolers could do to break a curse or free someone from a person like Akito. They barely got any time to themselves as it was. Someone was always watching over their shoulders waiting for them to do something cute or inappropriate or whatever it was they thought he and Kisa did together. No one understood that he loved her! He wasn't being mushy or trying to corrupt her, damnit! The only reason he even got her into his room was because his ditzy mother was at some doctor's appointment with her new baby. Otherwise they were lucky to be able to hug without some obnoxious person seeing them.

Kisa still wasn't saying anything so Hiro took the initiative and put his hand on hers. The contact was meant to comfort her, but he could tell that it made her nervous by her blush. He cursed himself for blushing as well. "Let's think about something else. We'll worry about them later."

"I can't do that," Kisa squeaked, balancing on the edge of crying and not. 

If there was one thing that wasn't going to happen it was Kisa crying. He hated that above all else. Thinking quickly, he stuffed his arm around her back and pulled her close to him, resting his head on top of hers. Such close contact was almost stifling in its ability to make his heart beat a million times per second, but it was nice at the same time. Mustering up all of his courage, Hiro kissed the top of Kisa's head, then when she looked up at him with wide eyes he kissed her forehead and drew his head away. Kisa was smiling at him and he became a bit emboldened. 

Leaning down awkwardly he rested his lips on hers, less scared than their tiny kisses of the past had been. Instead of one second this one lasted ten. It felt soft and gentle and sweet and hundreds of other things that he would normally be humiliated to feel. Afterwards he hugged her strongly, feeling her arms cling to his neck as she finally let out all of the tears that she had been holding in. Hiro just stroked her back and reveled in the redness of his cheeks.

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The floor tiles leapt up to meet his face as he fell against them. He took his beating like he always had, voiceless and docile. His thoughts were elsewhere than on the bruises and cuts and lumps that marred his entire body by now. That was the only way to get through the pain. 

Thoughts went back to his younger cousin, the one that turned into a Rat. The boy had been shaking with fear and he had been forced to physically put him in the closed room. He hadn't said anything to the boy, but he thought that was probably all right. He didn't think that Yuki had been aware of anything around him, either. Once they had exited Akito's chamber after the fight he had changed completely, becoming scared and almost panicky. Walking down to the locked room had taken some time, but Kureno didn't push him.

Another harsh kick landed on his side, this time evoking a grunt. No, he had let the boy walk at his own frightened pace and even smiled the best he could at him as he shut the door. Immediately after the door had slammed home a wail was heard from inside and Kureno had shook his head. Silence was always the best answer. He remembered Yuki calling out like that as a boy sometimes, too. He hadn't spoken to Yuki much then, but he had been curious as to why Akito had liked him so much. Maybe it was because he was the Rat. Kureno had no idea.

"Get up you filthy traitor!"

Kureno did as he was told and stood only to be struck down once again. This time he watched as blood spattered out across the floor. Maybe it was from his mouth or nose. He couldn't tell.

The only thing that made Kureno really sad was that poor girl. If everyone hadn't been so obvious in their adoration for her then she wouldn't have gotten hurt. He hadn't realized until earlier that day that Yuki and the girl were involved in some way. Chastising Yuki mentally for allowing her to be harmed, his thoughts went to Arisa.

The blood was definitely from his mouth. He could feel the trickle from his lip now. Perhaps his tooth had gone through it. That had happened once before and he bore a small scar. Of course that was years ago, but he still recalled the feeling of it. Yes, that's definitely what had happened.

If Arisa were ever put in harms way he would have fought harder. That seemed slightly out of character for him, but so did his relationship with her in general. After that day that they had made love, his thoughts were constantly on her. Perhaps that was why he had thrown himself at Akito. To save that girl, imagining it was Arisa. Some fit had overtaken him and he wasn't sure what. He had felt alive when he did that, just like he had felt alive when he and Arisa had lain together in his bed, bodies intertwined in fits of love. That's exactly what it was; it made him feel alive and out of control. Those were the only things that he could ever remember doing just on impulse and he had to admit that he rather enjoyed them. He didn't want to make Akito cross with him, but physical blows were a small price to pay for saving the girl from what he might have done.

Suddenly he realized the blows had stopped. Akito was sprawled on the floor, head down and fists beating wildly. "Why have you all left me?!" he shouted. "You can't leave me! I am in control here! You are all insolent, unappreciative heathens!" Kureno was stunned to hear that he was sobbing and he felt a pang of guilt. "Don't you know what I go through for all of you? You should obey me and love me. You _will_ obey me and love me!"

Kureno crawled to his master's side and sifted his fingers through Akito's hair just as he liked as a child. That was always how Kureno had lulled him when Akito had cried in his bed at night. No mother had come for him in his tears. Kureno was all he had and now he had betrayed that trust by hiding his love for another and hurting his frail God. "I'm sorry, Akito-sama," he murmured. "Please forgive me. I'm here for you now. Please forgive me."

Akito flashed his oily smile at his most devoted pet and stroked Kureno's hair back, just like he had done as a child when Kureno was lost or confused. His precious Bird was always devoted to him. He wasn't a false friend like Yuki or Hatori, and he didn't leave his master like Shigure had done. Kureno was always there for him. They should all be so kind. "I'm sorry for hurting you. I can't help it when you disobey me. You won't do that anymore, will you?"

"Of course not, Akito-sama."

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A/N: Okay, there's the aftermath for you. The next chapter will be Kyou, Tohru, and Yuki centered, so don't get angry with me for skimping on them this time. Oh, and I apologize to people who have only seen the anime if Kyou appears ooc at all. In the manga he's actually much friendlier and smilier. I guess that's it until next time! Keep on reading and reviewing and I'll have another chapter out probably by next week. I'm on break now so I have more time to write!

Thanks to: 

animelubber: Thank you for the compliments! I hope you didn't die waiting for me to update, lol. I had finals and such. And it's definitely a triangle fic and that's all I'm saying ^_^

C.B: This was my face reading your review: hehe ^_~

Zapenstap: Hatori was comical? O_o um, that's cool I guess although I wasn't going for that, persay. And I don't think "nobley" is a word you silly girl!

Merei-chan: It ain't over yet! Don't you worry!

ssj: Well, you did have to wait a while to see what happened next. Humble apologies!

LochNess: Excellent writing? *does a happy dance* Thank you! And you are free to beat Akito with a mallet. Be my guest.

xx Schizoid: Yes, Yuki purposefully lost to save Tohru. Wasn't that princely of him? ^_^

Aisha C: Deep? I like that! 

Mina7: Haha, you'll be seeing some kyoruness to counterbalance the yukiruness. Don't worry!

Zanattic: Wow, I seem to attract a lot of comments about spoons, lol. You are an excellent predictor of my story, so I'm not saying much, but thank you so much for your constantly awesome reviews and I'm sorry for the wait!

kyous fan: I'm glad!

Lenn: Yuki and Tohru didn't meet again this chapter, sorry. Nor will they meet next chapter. I guess you just have to read and find out, but the story is far from over. Lalalala, I'm not telling what Gure is up to. And I will try to post 2 more chapters over the break. Hopefully.

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Thank you for reading! Reviews are always welcome!


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